South Korea lodged a protest on Tuesday over Japan's fresh claim to sovereignty over a pair of rocky islets in the Sea of Japan, which have been under South Korean control for decades, according to media reports.

The Foreign Ministry summoned Hideo Suzuki, a minister at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, to deliver the protest over the claim reiterated by its Japanese counterpart in its annual "Diplomatic Bluebook" released the same day.

The ministry earlier in the day issued a statement saying that Japan "should realize that a correct recognition of history is the starting point and necessary condition" for bilateral relations, and demanding "an immediate correction."

Calling on Japan to "immediately cease its futile attempt," the ministry said the islets, which are known as Dokdo to South Koreans and Takeshima to Japanese, belong to South Korea historically, geographically and in terms of international law.

The two islets and small reefs around them have a combined area of only 0.21 square kilometers and are situated roughly equidistant from the Korean Peninsula and Japan's main island Honshu.

Source: MENA