Seoul to recall envoy to Tokyo over islets dispute

South Korea yesterday said it would recall its ambassador to Japan in protest against Tokyo's rekindled claims to disputed islets between the two countries.

The move comes after Japan announced yesterday that a government teaching manual would recommend that students learn about Tokyo's claims to the nearly uninhabitable islets, known as Dokdo in Korean and Takeshima in Japanese.

The dispute over the islets under South Korea's control has been a long-standing thorn in the neighbors' relations.

"Many people are of the opinion that we should teach the facts about Takeshima and deepen understanding of Japan's land and territory," said Nobutaka Machimura, Japan's chief cabinet secretary, adding that Seoul had been informed of the plan.

"We would like to avoid a situation where Japan-South Korea relations are gravely hurt by each and every issue that comes up," he said. "We both should handle such a matter calmly."

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak expressed "his deep disappointment and regret" over the renewed claim, said his spokesman Lee Dong-kwan.

"We cannot accept it, (we) strongly protest against the Japanese government and request immediate corrective measures," said South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young.

The ministry said it had lodged a strong protest with Japan's Foreign Ministry and would recall its ambassador to Tokyo for an unspecified period of time. Later, it summoned Japan's ambassador to South Korea to lodge a formal complaint.

South Korean ruling and opposition party lawmakers surveyed the islets from air yesterday afternoon in a symbolic gesture.

After taking office in February, the conservative President Lee - who was born in Japan during Tokyo's occupation of the Korean Peninsula - had sought to restore normal ties between the two countries.

In April, he held the first full-fledged summit between South Korea and Japan in three years.

Lee has seen his popularity plummet and faced weeks of anti-government protests sparked by health concerns over restored imports of US beef, forcing him to negotiate changes to a deal with Washington.

Hong Joon-pyo, an official in Lee's ruling Grand National Party, told parliament that he would rally the country to block what he called "the Japanese ambition for territorial aggression".

"Why is this different from the imperialistic behavior when they invaded the Korean Peninsula a century ago?" Hong said. Many Koreans harbor resentment against Japan for its 1910-45 colonial rule.