Korea holds regular defense drills around Dokdo: source

Korea conducted biannual defense drills near its easternmost islets of Dokdo earlier this week, a military source said, in what marked the sixth such exercise held under the current administration.

"The drills took place in the East Sea on Monday," the source said, emphasizing they are part of regular drills conducted to defend Korea's territory and its citizens' properties.

Navy and Coast Guard vessels, as well as Navy aircraft, were mobilized for the latest exercise, the source said, without providing further details.

In a similar scope compared with a drill conducted in August, the defense drills did not involve Marines.

Some of the drills in the past involved fighter jets and landing maneuvers on the islets, but they have taken place in a relatively low-key approach under the incumbent government.

Dokdo has long been a recurring source of tension between Korea and Japan, as Tokyo continues to make sovereignty claims in its policy papers, public statements and school textbooks.

In response to the drills in August, Tokyo lodged a complaint through diplomatic channels.

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

Korea launched the defense drills in 1986 and has staged them twice a year since 2003. (Yonhap)