Japanese lawmakers to be banned from visiting island near Dokdo: official

SEOUL, July 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has decided to slap an entry ban on two Japanese lawmakers planning to visit an island near the South's easternmost islets of Dokdo, a trip that Seoul calls an attempt to renew Tokyo's territorial claims to the islets, an official said Thursday. Four lawmakers of Japan's opposition Liberal Democratic Party said last week they will visit Ulleung Island near Dokdo in early August. The South Korean volcanic islets, located about 90 kilometers east of Ulleung, have been a source of a diplomatic friction between Seoul and Tokyo. President Lee Myung-bak on Wednesday warned the Japanese lawmakers against visiting the island, saying their safety could be at risk if they press ahead with the planned trip. Seoul's foreign ministry has also repeatedly urged the Tokyo politicians to call off their travel plans. Two of the four Japanese lawmakers canceled their visits, but the remaining pair decided to press ahead, according to ministry officials. "I have learned that two Japanese lawmakers will press ahead with their trip to Ulleung Island," a senior ministry official said on the condition of anonymity. "If they push ahead to enter our nation, we will enforce an entry ban on them," the official said. The planned trip sparked outrage in South Korea, with the ruling party chief and other lawmakers calling for the government to ban the Japanese officials' entry to the country. Seoul officials have expressed concern that the Tokyo lawmakers could be a target of angry civic groups. South Korea has rejected Japan's claims over Dokdo as nonsense because the country regained independence after the 1910-45 colonial rule and reclaimed sovereignty over its territory, including Dokdo and many other islands around the Korean Peninsula.