Seoul effectively controls the islets - called Dokdo in Korean and Takeshima in Japanese - but Tokyo also claims ownership. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
SEOUL - SOUTH Korean President Lee Myung Bak has reiterated his country's claim to a cluster of tiny islets at the center of a long-running territorial row with Japan.
Presidential spokesman Kim Eun Hye said that Mr Lee told visiting pro-South Korea residents from Japan on Monday that 'there should be no concession because Dokdo is the issue of territory.'
Seoul effectively controls the islets - called Dokdo in Korean and Takeshima in Japanese - but Tokyo also claims ownership. Earlier this year, the dispute heated up when Japan said it would recommend in a government teaching manual that students learn about Tokyo's claims to the islets, which are mostly uninhabited but are rich in marine resources.
