South Korea will conduct a drill in and around the Dokdo islets in April or May under guidelines from a crisis management manual drawn up by the presidential National Security Counci, CRIENGLISH.com reports Tuesday.

The Council spokeswoman Lee Jie-hyun said that the exact timing has not been fixed and maritime police will lead the drill.

She dismissed an allegation the drill was arranged in response to the recent diplomatic row between Seoul and Tokyo over the latter's renewed claim to the disputed islets.

Another official said that the drill is only a part of an estimation of the guidelines issued last year.

Both South Korea and Japan claim sovereignty over the disputed islets, known as Dokdo in Korea and Takeshima in Japan.

Source: CRIENGLISH.com