Japan reaffirms islands claim (AAP)

An angry South Korea recalled its ambassador to Japan after Tokyo reaffirmed its claim to a group of islands controlled by Seoul. Ambassador Kwon Chul-Hyun will return home temporarily after lodging a strong protest with Japan's foreign ministry, the Seoul foreign ministry said. Foreign Minister Yu Myung-Hwan summoned Tokyo's envoy Toshinori Shigeie over the row, which threatens to wreck efforts by South Korea 's new President Lee Myung-Bak to improve historically tense relations. In Tokyo, top government spokesman Nobutaka Machimura called for calm over Japan's decision to restate its claim to the islands in the Sea of Japan (East Sea), known as Dokdo in Korea and Takeshima in Japan. About 100 riot police were deployed around the Japanese embassy in Seoul. Elsewhere in the city, some 30 protesters rallied, Yonhap news agency... [read full story]