Lawmakers from the National Defense Committee will visit Dokdo next month as part of their parliamentary audit process, sources said Thursday.
Under the plan unanimously approved by lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties, the visit is expected to take place on Oct. 23.
"Lawmakers will visit the islets in the East Sea by helicopter after inspecting the Navy Operations Command in Busan," a parliamentary source said. He said lawmakers will meet members of the small police contingent on the islets and be briefed by the officer in charge.
The visit, if it takes place, will be the third of its kind by the National Assembly committee. Lawmakers visited the islets located 216.8 kilometers east of Jukbyeon Port on South Korea's east coast in 2005 and 2008. For the 2005 visit, Rep. Park Geun-hye, the current presidential candidate for the ruling Saenuri Party, was among the 13 lawmakers who set foot on the country's eastern-most territory.
"The visit will again highlight that Dokdo is South Korea's sovereign territory," an official said.
The planned visit comes after President Lee Myung-bak's surprise trip in August caused Japan to recall its ambassador in protest. Bilateral relations also suffered their worst setback in recent years as Tokyo reiterated its claim on Dokdo.
Lee's trip marked the first time ever that Korea's chief executive has visited Dokdo. (Yonhap)