SEOUL (AP): South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has reiterated his country's claim to a cluster of tiny islets at the center of a long-running territorial row with Japan.

Presidential spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye said that Lee told visiting pro-South Korea residents from Japan on Monday that ``there should be no concession because Dokdo is the issue of territory.''

Seoul effectively controls the islets _ called Dokdo in Korean and Takeshima in Japanese _ but Tokyo also claims ownership. Earlier this year, the dispute heated up when Japan said it would recommend in a government teaching manual that students learn about Tokyo's claims to the islets, which are mostly uninhabited but are rich in marine resources.

Japan colonized Korea from 1910-1945.