SEOUL - South Korea will start building a naval base on Ulleung Island next year, a bid to better guard a set of nearby islets claimed by Japan, a lawmaker said Wednesday.

The base will be able to accommodate Aegis destroyers and amphibious landing ships once the construction is completed in 2015, according to Chung Mee-Kyung of the ruling Grand National Party, who is also a member of the parliamentary defense committee.

The construction would cost 352 billion won ($300 million), she said.

Ulleung Island is located some 90 kilometers west of the disputed islets known as Dokdo here and Takeshima in Japan. The islets have been subject to Japan's repeated territorial claim, a source of diplomatic row between the two Asian neighbors.

South Korea has a coast guard unit stationed on the sparsely inhabited East Sea islets, a show of its effective control.