South Korea's foreign ministry has dismissed a protest from Japan over a Seoul lawmaker's recent visit to the country's easternmost islets of Dokdo, a ministry official said Wednesday.

According to Kyodo News on Tuesday, the Japanese foreign ministry lodged the protest to Seoul over the visit by Rep. Jeon Yong-gi of the main opposition Democratic Party to Dokdo on the same day.

A senior Seoul foreign ministry official said the government "dismissed the unfair claim from Japan through diplomatic channels." The official added the ministry reiterated its stance that Dokdo is South Korea's sovereign territory "historically, geographically and under international law."

South Korea has been in effective control of Dokdo, with a small police detachment, since its liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule. (Yonhap)