The government summoned a Japanese diplomat in Seoul to lodge a protest over recent claims by the Japanese foreign minister to the Dokdo islets in the East Sea.
According to the government, Seo Min-jung, director general for Asia and Pacific affairs at Seoul's foreign ministry, brought in Naoki Kumagai, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul on Monday, regarding Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi's territorial claim to Dokdo.
Hayashi said on Monday in a parliamentary policy speech that Dokdo is Japanese territory according to historical facts and that his country will act accordingly based on that stance.
Following Hayashi's speech, Seoul's foreign ministry issued a statement, saying that Japan has again made the unjustified claim to Dokdo and called for an immediate retraction of the remarks.
The statement also warned that Tokyo must realize its repeated claims to Dokdo does not help build future-oriented bilateral relations.
Seo reportedly conveyed the position to Kumagai and reiterated Seoul's protest over Hayashi's remarks.