SEOUL, March 13 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's foreign ministry said Friday it will take firm actions against renewed territorial claims by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi over the easternmost South Korean islets of Dokdo, Yonhap News Agency reported.
In a statement, the ministry said Seoul will respond "firmly and sternly" to any claims by Tokyo regarding Dokdo, stressing that the islets are clearly South Korean territory "historically, geographically and under international law."
On Thursday, Takaichi said Japan would clearly inform the international community that the islands, known as Takeshima in Japan, are Japanese territory during a ceremony marking the so-called "Takeshima Day."
Takaichi, who took office in October last year, had earlier suggested that it would be acceptable for a cabinet minister to attend the annual "Takeshima Day" event.
The so-called "Takeshima Day" event, hosted annually by Japan's Shimane Prefecture, has been used to assert Japan's administrative claim over the rocky islets since the prefecture designated Feb. 22 as Takeshima Day in 2005.
South Korea restored its sovereignty over the islets following the Korean Peninsula's liberation from the 1910-1945 Japanese colonial rule. Seoul has since been in effective control of Dokdo, with a small police detachment deployed.
South Koreans see Japan's territorial claims to the islets as a denial of the colonial history. ■