1. The government of the Republic of Korea strongly protests the Japanese government’s repeated inclusion of unjust sovereignty claims over Dokdo, an integral part of the ROK’s territory, in its Diplomatic Bluebook issued on May 15. The ROK government strongly urges the Japanese government to immediately withdraw such claims.

2. The Japanese government should be aware that repeatedly making unjust claims over Dokdo is in no way conducive to the efforts to establish a future-oriented relationship between the ROK and Japan.

3. The ROK government makes it clear once again that the Japanese government’s futile claims over Dokdo cannot have any impact on the ROK’s sovereignty over Dokdo, which is clearly an integral part of the ROK’s territory in terms of history, geography and international law. The ROK government will respond sternly to any provocations by Japan over Dokdo.

* unofficial translation