GOV'T CONDEMNS JAPAN'S CLAIM ON DOKDO

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The Korean government has condemned Japan's territorial claim to the Dokdo islets posted on the official website of the Tokyo Olympics. The Games organizing committee says it has no intention to erase the controversial phrase. The move has sparked strong protests in Korea, with some calling for boycotting the Tokyo Olympics.

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This map of the Olympic torch relay was posted on the official website of the Tokyo games. An enlarged image of the area around the Oki Islands in Shimane prefecture shows the Korean islets of Dokdo. Seoul's foreign ministry immediately demanded Tokyo take corrective measures. The Korea Sport & Olympic Committee also sent a letter condemning the move to the Japanese Olympic Committee.

[Soundbite] (Foreign Ministry official) : "It's unacceptable for Japan to mark the Korean islets of Dokdo as part of its territory on the Tokyo Olympics website."

The organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympics sent a reply to KBS. It reads, "The map in question was created to show the route of the Olympic torch relay in an easy-to-understand way, and includes remote islets as well. It's nothing more than geographic features." This means Japan refuses to back off from its territorial claim of Dokdo and wants to keep the islets on its map. Sources say the country has already conveyed this to Korea via various diplomatic channels. When the official website of the Tokyo Games was launched, Dokdo was marked clearly on the map. Last year the Games' organizing committee blurred the islets, but denied doing so.

[Soundbite] Lee So-young(Democratic Party spokesperson) : "Dokdo is part of Korean territory. Japan knows that, but it still marks the islets this way on its map."

Former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun stressed, if Japan refuses to erase Dokdo from its map, South Korea should consider boycotting the Tokyo Olympics.