The Republics of Korea (ROK) on Friday decided to indefinitely put off a visit to Japan by its foreign minister originally scheduled for next week.

The decision was made during a meeting of the South Korean National Security Council, reported ROK's Yonhap News Agency.

The minister was to visit Japan on March 11-13 to consolidate friendship between the two countries as they mark ROK-Japan Friendship Year this year and discuss the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula and other pending issues.

The decision apparently came out of protest over the recent indifference shown by Japan to ROK President Roh Moo-hyun's remarks on the colonial rule and a comment from the Japanese ambassador to Seoul, who claimed that the Dokdo Islets are part of Japanese territory, Yonhap said.
 
On March 1, Roh demanded Japan to apologize for its colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula during 1910-1945.

The Dokdo issue has also become a hot potato between ROK and Japan after Toshiyuki Takano, Tokyo's ambassador to Seoul, claimed in late February the islands, called Taekshima in Japanese, belong to Japan. His remarks triggered rising of anti-Japanese sentiment here.

Dokdo island, located roughly in the middle between ROK and Japan in the East Sea (Sea of Japan), currently is under control by South Korea.

In late January, ROK and Japan kicked off a series of events to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two neighbors.

(Xinhua News Agency March 5, 2005)