CHEN: A group of rocky outcrop islands are at the center of a nationalistic storm. Both Japan and South Korea claim ownership. Insulting behavior has increased and now blood is flowing. STORY: A diplomatic bust-up between South Korea and Japan over a territorial dispute turns bloody. A group of former South Korean elite soldiers slaughtered Japan's national bird outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul. The pheasants smashed bodies were left to bleed out on Japanese flags, each one carrying a picture of prime minister Yasuo Fukuda. The Japanese leader rekindled the territorial tug-of-war over this unihabited island chain last week, when he reportedly told the South Korean president of Japan's plan to refer to the islands as Japanese territory in teaching manuals. [Oh Kwang-Sik, Former South Korean Soldier]: "The Dokdo is clearly our territory and the Japanese government must stop distorting not only their textbooks but also history." South Korea refers to the desolate islets as Dokdo. Japan calls them Takeshima. The islets, which are roughly equidistant from Korea and Japan, lie in rich fishing grounds which are also thought to contain potential natural gas deposits. South Korea believes its territorial claim is stronger, not least because the country maintains a martime police force there. Earlier this week, South Korea recalled its ambassador to Japan in protest. President Lee Myung-bak has promised a tough response, including possible legal action. Heated protests outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul are set to continue.