MOSCOW - Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday he was indifferent to the irritation that his trip to the Southern Kurils islands caused in Tokyo.

"The reaction of our Japanese partner is so much indifferent to me that I don't even want to answer that question," Medvedev told reporters during his visit to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, capital of the Kamchatka Peninsula region.

Medvedev spoke after his Tuesday visit to Kunashir island (called Kunashiri in Japan), which sparked angry response from Tokyo and a new round of diplomatic spats between the two sides.

It is unnecessary to discuss the presence of a Russian government leader in the Russian territory, Medvedev said, promising to make his next trip to the islands longer.

He regretted that only a few journalists could accompany him during his second trip to the Kurils due to bad weather.

"Everything depends on the weather. One had to seize the moment because of the weather. But when I fly to the islands next time, do stay closer to me and don't miss the moments," the prime minister told reporters.

Moscow and Tokyo have been at odds over the four islands (known as the Northern Territories in Japan) since the end of World War II. That's when the Soviet Union seized the disputed territory, including Etorofu, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai islet group, with 17,000 residents.

Tensions between Russia and Japan mounted in November 2010 when then-President Medvedev became the first Russian leader to visit the disputed islets.

Medvedev said Moscow considered the Far East region a priority in development and government officials should visit the region more frequently.

"A lot of problems have cropped up here. All cabinet members must come here regularly to deal with local problems carefully. Arriving here for a couple of hours and then flying back to Moscow won't do," Medvedev said.