Ministry of Foreign Affairs "Review of the Korea-Japan summit… Sorry about the leak of Japanese media"

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed strong regret over the Japanese media reports that the South Korean and Japanese governments are coordinating a meeting between President Moon Jae-in and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in the wake of the Tokyo Olympics.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on the 11th, "Recently, the two countries have been closely discussing ways to use the Tokyo Olympics as an opportunity to resolve issues between the two countries through diplomatic channels."

“In particular, it is true that we have considered the possibility of holding a South Korea-Japan summit on the premise that momentum for resolving current issues is established and a proper formality is established.”

However, the official said, "We express our strong regret that the contents of the discussions between the diplomatic authorities of the two countries are being leaked to the media unilaterally from Japan's point of view, citing Japanese government officials and others."

"In such a situation, it is difficult for the two governments to continue consultations, and we urge the Japanese side to respond cautiously," he said.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "The government has been working to improve bilateral relations under the two-track principle of responding separately from the past and future-oriented cooperation related to Korea-Japan relations. “We have consistently maintained our position to negotiate through dialogue between the diplomatic authorities of South Korea and Japan on past history issues,” he added.

Earlier, Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that today the South Korean government has requested a summit if President Moon attends the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, and the Japanese government has conveyed to the South Korean side that it accepts the meeting.

Japan's Kyodo News Agency also reported the remarks of a source at the Japanese prime minister's office, saying, "In principle, it may take about 15 minutes" if the summit takes place.

(Photo = Yonhap News)