Seoul raps Japan over Dokdo facility remarks

South Korea on Thursday slammed a Japanese minister for his remarks on Seoul's decision not to set up a safety facility on its easternmost islets of Dokdo in the East Sea.

Seoul has shelved its plan to set up a safety support center on the Dokdo islets, saying that the decision was made in consideration of international maritime laws and possible problems with their scenery and management.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Wednesday that Seoul's decision seemed to reflect Japan's continued claim to the islets.

"(Suga's) remarks are not even worth considering ... I would say that everyone is free to believe whatever they believe,"

Seoul's foreign ministry spokesman Noh Kwang-il told a regular press briefing.

He also dismissed Japan's territorial claim to the islets that lie closer to South Korea than Japan in waters between the two countries.

"The Dokdo islets are South Korea's own territory in terms of history, geography and international laws. The decision to scrap the plan to establish the center was made on the Seoul government's own judgment," he said.

South Korea rejects Japan's claim to Dokdo as nonsense because the country regained its independence from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule and reclaimed sovereignty over its territories, including Dokdo and many other islands around the Korean Peninsula.

Japan is trying to turn the issue into a territorial dispute, but Seoul has kept its stance that there exists no such argument as the islets are South Korea's own territory.

"If Tokyo continues to repeat the history of its wartime aggression, it will be not easy for Japan to earn the respect of Asia and the international community," Noh added. (Yonhap)