South Korea recalls ambassador to Japan

South Korea announced on Monday that it was recalling its ambassador to Tokyo to protest Japan's renewed claim to a string of islets that have been the focus of a protracted territorial dispute.

The government of President Lee Myung-bak, which has made improving ties with Japan a major policy goal, said it was an "intolerable act" that Japan restated its territorial claim in a new guideline for junior high school teachers and textbook publishers released on Monday.

"This is something we can never accept. Thus we protest strongly to the Japanese government and demand that it immediately make a correction," said Mun Tae-young, spokesman for the South Korean Foreign Ministry. "We will take decisive actions against any attempt to damage our territorial rights."