[Hankyoreh, April 9 2008] S. Korea protests Japan's claim over Dokdo

South Korea has lodged a strong complaint over Japan's renewed campaign to lay claim to Dokdo, a cluster of South Korean islets in the East Sea, a government official said Tuesday.

In February, Japan's Foreign Ministry claimed on its Web site that Dokdo belongs to its territory both historically and legally.

Dokdo, known for its rich fishing waters, is the decades-old cause of a serious diplomatic row between the two neighboring nations, although Seoul effectively controls it. A small unit of South Korean maritime police is stationed on the inhabited rocky outcroppings.