Korea's governing body of basketball held high school basketball matches on Dokdo on Saturday amid heightened tensions sparked by Japan's claim to the easternmost Korean territory.
Players from four high schools formed teams and engaged in three-to-three friendly matches against guards stationed on the rocky islets in a sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, according to the Korea Basketball Association (KBA).
Association officials said the sports activity, intended as a morale booster for dozens of police officers stationed there, would help strengthen South Korea's sovereignty over the islets.
"I think that (this event) sent a message that Dokdo is our territory in a sincere and peaceful way to the world," KBA President Lee Jong-kul said.
He said that the KBA will hold more such events in the future to help instill affection of Dokdo and national patriotism among high school students.
It was the second such basketball match to be held on Dokdo following the first one in August last year.
This year's event comes amid high diplomatic tensions between South Korea and Japan after President Lee Myung-bak made a surprise visit to the islets on Aug. 10 and asked Japan to sincerely atone for its 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
Lee was the first South Korean president to visit the islets.
Tokyo, which has long laid claim to the islets, has strongly protested Lee's visit and suggested settling the issue at the International Court of Justice. South Korea rejected the Japanese proposal. (Yonhap)
