South Korean opposition lawmakers visit ”Takeshima” and denounce Japan's ”sovereignty claims”

On the 30th, 17 members of the "Dokdo (Long Island, Japanese name: Takeshima) Guardian Group," a committee to deal with humiliating diplomacy against Japan, from the Gyeonggi Province branch of the Democratic Party of Korea, the largest opposition party in South Korea, visited Takeshima.
Min Byung-duk, a member of the National Assembly and chairman of the Committee to Counter Humiliating Diplomatic Relations with Japan, said, "We cannot accept Japan's claim of sovereignty over Liancourt Rocks as humiliating diplomacy or one-sided pro-Japanese behavior."
"We cannot deal with this effectively," he said. "We have no choice but to condemn the government for describing Dokdo as a disputed area in military teaching materials. This is an act of treason and an abandonment of sovereignty."
"Japan's claim to sovereignty over Liancourt Rocks is an attempt to justify imperialist aggression and a manifestation of the ghost of militarism, and will never be tolerated," said Baek Hye-ryeong, a lawmaker from the party.
"We cannot abandon Dokdo, no matter what the cost," he said, emphasizing that "Dokdo is our inherent and unchanging land." Rep. Kim Byung-wook, chairman of the Gyeonggi Provincial Chapter, said, "Dokdo will never be abandoned, no matter what the cost."
"It is our inherent territory and a symbol of our sovereign nation that cannot be compromised," he said, stressing, "We will never give up even a single blade of grass or a sip of water on Liancourt Rocks."
The Gyeonggi branch of the Democratic Party continues to schedule visits to Takeshima by current Diet members, and is calling for the establishment of an independent nation that will secure territorial sovereignty.
The plan is to widely spread awareness that the islands are Korean territory. Meanwhile, the Japanese government issued a statement in protest after South Korean lawmakers visited Takeshima.