SEOUL, South Korea?- South Korea's foreign ministry says it has summoned Japan's second highest-ranking envoy in Seoul to protest Tokyo's latest claim over a set of islets between the countries.

The ministry said Tuesday it summoned Japanese deputy chief of mission Nobukatsu Kanehara after Tokyo's defense report claimed for the seventh straight year that the islets belong to Japan.

The outcroppings are known as Dokdo in Korean and Takeshima in Japanese. South Korea has a small contingent of police officers stationed there in a show of effective control.

South Korea banned three conservative Japanese lawmakers from entering the country Monday after they arrived at a Seoul airport with a plan to travel near the disputed islets.

The United States on Tuesday urged South Korea and Japan to continue to handle the long-standing dispute with restraint. Both countries are key US allies.