S. Korea to stage military drill to defend Dokdo

South Korea said Wednesday it will carry out a drill to deter trespassers on its easternmost islets of Dokdo later this month amid Japan's renewed claims to the island.

The drill is scheduled to take place for a two-day period on the rocky outcroppings in the East Sea and in its surrounding waters with the detailed plan subject to change, a military officer said, requesting anonymity. 

"The exercise aims to repel non-military forces that approach the islets via a sea or air route," he added.

The exercise has been carried out twice a year since 1986, with the latest taking place in November last year despite protests from Japan, which has long laid claim to Dokdo, stoking enmity in South Korea toward its former colonial ruler.

South Korea says such claims are tantamount to Japan's denial of Korea's independence from its 1910-45 colonial rule, as Seoul reclaimed sovereignty over all of its territories-- including Dokdo and many other islands around the Korean Peninsula -- upon its independence.

"The planned exercise will involve some five to six destroyers and convoys as well as some fighters and patrol planes," another officer said. "The drill will include a landing training exercise by a squad of Marines." (Yonhap)