CONTINUED DISPUTE OVER S.KOREA-JP GSOMIA

[Anchor Lead]

Controversy keeps stirring over the "conditional extension" of GSOMIA. South Korea's presidential office had said Japan apologized after Seoul protested against Tokyo's distortions of the agreement. However, Japan claimed it didn't apologize, again drawing backlash from Cheong Wa Da on Monday.

[Pkg]

Cheong Wa Da said Sunday that Japan apologized for its controversial remarks regarding the conditional extension of GSOMIA. Japan dismissed that statement after just 4 hours. A Japanese media report cited a Japanese foreign ministry official as denying making such an apology. This completely refutes Cheong Wa Dae's earlier claim. The report added further analysis on the controversy. It said that by filing a protest with Japan, Korea appears to be trying to avoid criticism at home that it made concessions over the GSOMIA decision. Cheong Wa Dae then again refuted that argument. It said that no one within the Japanese government has denied remarks made by Seoul's national security adviser Chung Eui-yong. The top office instead criticized both Korean and Japanese media for playing a "truth game". Cheong Wa Dae said the truth is the truth, adding that if Japan really did not apologize as claimed by some, it would file a formal complaint against Korea. According to one Korean government source, Tokyo proposed director-level talks a week before the expiration of GSOMIA and added that it will take about a month to withdraw its export restrictions against Korea. The source said that as Japan even mentioned a time frame, Korea regarded it as sincere and decided to conditionally extend the pact. Regarding the GSOMIA dispute, Cheong Wa Dae refrained from holding a press briefing, but sent text messages to reporters in order to not overshadow the ongoing ASEAN-Korea summit in Busan. The top office's stance is that the dispute over GSOMIA escalating further or easing off depends entirely on Tokyo's attitude.