G20 SUMMIT IN JAPAN

[Anchor Lead]

During the G20 summit slated to be opened in Osaka this week, President Moon Jae-in is to hold one-on-one talks with the leaders of seven countries, including China and Russia on the sidelines of the summit. But a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is not scheduled, poignantly reflecting strained relations between the East Asian neighbors.

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​The presidential office has officially confirmed that South Korea-Japan summit talks will not take place during the G20 summit. A senior top office official said that Korea is ready to meet but there has been no response from Japan. But the official left room for a possible one-on-one saying that bilateral talks can still take place if Tokyo makes a request during the G20 period.

[Soundbite] KANG KYUNG-WHA(MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS) : "We clearly expressed our stance and whether a summit takes place or not is up to Japan."

Considering past norms at the G20 and the peculiar nature of Seoul-Tokyo relations, it's considered unusual for Japan, the chair country of the G20, to turn down Korea's request for a bilateral meeting. The snub reflects the current state of the two countries' relations. Japan has been pressuring the Seoul government in protest of the Korean Supreme Court ruling on Japan's wartime forced labor. Tokyo has called for establishing a mediation panel which Seoul finds difficult to accept. And Japan has not hesitated to connect this issue with holding a possible summit with Korea. Some pundits speculate a summit with Korea could politically burden Prime Minister Abe ahead of parliamentary elections next month. Other observers attribute the worsening relationship between the two countries to Korea's lack of diplomatic prowess and Japan's diplomatic disrespect. The issue of trilateral cooperation between Seoul, Tokyo and Washington is expected to be a key agenda item during Korea-US summit talks scheduled for June 30th.