South Korea's Information and Communication Minister Chin Dae-je made an unscripted visit to the easternmost islets of Dokdo on Monday to check communication services there, South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted a ministry official as saying.

"Minister Chin flew to the Dokdo islets by helicopter in the morning to inspect information and telecommunication services in the region like mobile phone and high-speed Internet," the official who declined to be named said.

The official said that the minister had made mobile phone calls and used the Internet, confirming those services are in normal operation there.

There is no political meaning to Chin's visit to Dokdo, the official said. "The minister made the visit just to carry out an on-spot inspection of communication services there, so there is no need to attach any political meaning to it."

Japan has recently made a fresh claim to the islets in the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, souring relations between the two countries.

South Korea insists the islets, called "Dokdo" in Korean language, have been listed as its territory in history literature since the fifth century. While Japan also claims the islets, called "Takeshima" in Japanese, has been its territory since 17th century, as written in literatures.

Dokdo now is under effectual control of South Korea who has deployed a garrison of coast police on the islets since 1954.