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SEOUL - SOUTH Korea staged a military drill near tiny islands claimed by both Seoul and Tokyo on Wednesday, just a day after the first-ever visit by a Korean prime minister, officials said.
The defence ministry confirmed the day-long exercises near a group of rocky and treeless islets, called Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan, which are at the centre of an intensifying dispute between the countries.
The navy said the drill in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) included a 3,000-tonne destroyer, anti-submarine helicopters and the country's latest fighter jets.
It said the annual drill 'aims to block 'imaginary forces' from entering the islets and drive them away'. A small South Korean police contingent stays in the islets.
The drill was a first of two scheduled major exercises near the islands this year. The annual military manoeuvres had previously been held in a low-key manner but were made public this year.
South Korean Prime Minister Han Seung Soo, accompanied by two Cabinet ministers, visited the islets on Tuesday - the highest-ranking official Seoul ever to do so. Japan criticised Mr Han's trip.
'I don't think an action like this to highlight the differences in positions is very appropriate,' said Japanese government spokesman Nobutaka Machimura.
The dispute erupted again earlier this month when Japan's new educational guidelines urged Japanese students to have a deeper understanding of their country's claim over the islands.
The United States Board on Geographic Names has changed its classification of the islets from a territory of South Korea to one with 'undesignated sovereignty'. -- AFP
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