Japanese Ambassador Shotaro Oshima rejected a request by South Korea on Friday to cancel plans for a maritime survey near disputed islets controlled by South Korea, the Japanese Embassy in Seoul said.
The request was made by South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Yu Myung Hwan at the Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry.
The Japanese government announced earlier Friday that it planned to send a Japan Coast Guard vessel to conduct maritime surveys in the Sea of Japan near the islets, which are called Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan.
Yu told Oshima the South Korean government demanded an immediate halt to the survey, saying it would intrude upon South Korea's Exclusive Economic Zone.