South Korea decided to exclude landing maneuvers on the country’s easternmost islets of Dokdo from upcoming defense drills as the main purpose of such exercises has already been fulfilled through President Lee Myung-bak’s visit to the islets, a senior official said Tuesday.

The Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard are scheduled to kick off biannual Dokdo defense exercises on Friday. The drills previously involved Marine Corps landing on the East Sea islets, but the government decided to exclude such operations from the upcoming drills.

The decision came as tensions between South Korea and Japan have been running high over Dokdo since President Lee Myung-bak made an unprecedented visit to the islets on Aug. 10. Japan, which has claimed Dokdo as its territory, strongly protested the visit. (Yonhap News)