(LEAD) S. Korea calls in Japanese Embassy official over Tokyo's renewed territorial claim to Dokdo

▲ Hirotaka Matsuo, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, presents himself at the foreign ministry in Seoul on April 10, 2026. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) S Korea-Japan-Dokdo

(LEAD) S. Korea calls in Japanese Embassy official over Tokyo's renewed territorial claim to Dokdo

(ATTN: UPDATES with statement from foreign ministry in paras 5-7, new photo)

SEOUL, April 10 (Yonhap) -- The foreign ministry on Friday called in a senior official at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul to protest Tokyo's renewed territorial claim to South Korea's easternmost islets, Dokdo.

Kim Sang-hoon, director general for Asia-Pacific affairs, lodged a complaint with Hirotaka Matsuo, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy, who was summoned to the foreign ministry.

Earlier in the day, Japan's foreign ministry published this year's Diplomatic Bluebook, an annual report on the country's foreign policy and activities, in which it renewed its territorial claim to Dokdo.

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi submitted the bluebook to a Cabinet meeting earlier Friday, in which Japan claimed Dokdo as its territory and accused South Korea of continuing "illegal occupation" of the islets by stationing security forces.

In a statement issued by its spokesperson, Seoul's foreign ministry said it "strongly protests Japan's renewal of its unjust territorial claim to Dokdo and urges its immediate withdrawal."

It said Dokdo is "historically, geographically and under international law" South Korea's territory.

"The government once again makes clear that Japan's unjust claim will have no influence on our sovereignty over Dokdo," the statement also said, pledging a stern response to Japan's "provocations" regarding the islets.

Dokdo has long been a recurring source of tension between the two neighbors, as Tokyo continues to make the sovereignty claims in its policy papers, public statements and school textbooks.

South Korea maintains a small police detachment on the islets, effectively controlling them.

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