Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Toshinori Shigeie (L) and South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan (R) take seats before their meeting after Yu summoned Shigeie to deliver a message of protest over Japan's new educational guidelines which define Dokdo as part of its territory, in Seoul July 14, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

South Korea will recall its ambassador to Japan after Japan intensified its claim to the ownership of a group of islands controlled by Seoul, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said Monday.

South Korean Ambassador to Japan Kwon Chul-hyun will return to Seoul soon on a temporary basis, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young at a news conference.

Moon said in a statement that Japan's claim over the sovereignty to the disputed islands of Dokdo, which is called Takeshima in Japan, in its new educational guidelines is " unacceptable and intolerable."

According to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, Japan's Education Ministry announced earlier on Monday its plan to define Dokdo as part of Japanese territory in a teacher's guidebook for Japanese middle school textbook to be used from 2012.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan also plans to summon Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Toshinori Shigeie later in the day to deliver a protest message, the spokesman said.

"The South Korean government can never tolerate this and strongly urges the Japanese government to immediately stop the attempt," Moon said at the nationally-televised statement.

The spokesman said Dokdo clearly belongs to South Korea " historically, geographically, and by international law."

"The government makes it clear again that it will deal sternly with any attempt to undermine its sovereignty over Dokdo," he said.

Following Moon's statement, South Korea's Presidential Office said that South Korea has reinforced the defense of the islets of Dokdo and will take measures to strengthen its sovereign control of the disputed islets in response to Japan's sovereign claim.

Local media said that the South Korean government is determined to take strong countermeasures, including diplomatic, academic and administrative actions to consolidate South Korea's sovereign control of Dokdo.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak expressed "deep disappointment" with Japan.

"I'm obliged to express deep regrets and disappointment at the Japanese government's decision to define Dokdo as part of its territory in a teacher's manual, particularly in consideration of the existing bilateral summit agreement to pursue a future-oriented partnership. The South Korean government has to deal with the Japanese claim to Dokdo sternly and strictly," said the president.

About 40 lawmakers of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) conducted a brief visit to the islets of Dokdo, which are under control of South Korea, Monday afternoon and pledged non-partisan efforts to frustrate Japan's territorial bid for the islets. They also defined Japan's claim to Dokdo as an attempt to violate South Korea's territorial sovereignty and a serious challenge to the Korean history.

Editor: Yan