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Dokdo image (not from article) from

SEOUL, March 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea said Tuesday it will launch a private-public panel this week to tackle errors and distortions of its history in foreign texts.

The "private-public cooperative committee" will be launched by the foreign and education ministries Wednesday, bringing together seven government-affiliated agencies and five private organizations with expertise in history, public diplomacy and geography, the ministries said in a joint press release.

The move comes days after Tokyo approved a set of updated high school textbooks that lay claim to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo.

The new body aims to "effectively respond to errors and historical distortions related to Korea overseas and improve the country's image through increased coverage of South Korea's development," the ministries said.

The launch will be followed by the committee's first meeting, which will be presided over by Vice Education Minister Lee Young, who co-chairs the committee with a vice foreign minister.

The meeting will especially focus on ways to counter Japan's repeated claims to Dokdo through education programs.

The row over the islets has long been a thorn in bilateral relations although South Korea has exercised effective control over Dokdo and has maintained a small police detachment there since its liberation from Japan in 1945.