South Korea has expressed consternation over the resumption of Japanese commercial whaling following a 30-year hiatus.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said in a statement on Monday that such whaling poses a serious concern and warned that it should not disrupt whales in South Korean waters. 

A ministry official said that the government will analyze the impact of Japanese whale hunting on South Korean waters, adding the conservation and use of the ocean mammals should be discussed at the International Whaling Commission, which Japan withdraw from last month.

Japan suspended commercial whaling in 1988 in the wake of international criticism, but had not fully abandoned the killing of whales. 

The BBC says since 1987, Japan has killed between 200 and one-thousand-200 whales annually for what it calls scientific purposes.

Supporters of the practice say hunting and eating whales is important to Japan's culture.

With commercial operations resuming, there are concerns that the roughly 30 species of whales found in South Korea's coastal waters, including minke whales, may be a target for Japanese whale hunters.