Photo: Yonhap News
Cheong Wa Dae has stressed the importance of a meeting between the leaders of South Korea and Japan to resolve pending issues that have soured bilateral ties.
Presidential spokesman Kang Min-seok said Wednesday that the neighboring countries need to hold talks to work out the problems.
He added that Seoul will continue efforts to hold a trilateral summit that also involves Beijing.
The comments came in the wake of a report that Japan's new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is considering boycotting an annual trilateral forum unless South Korea takes measures to resolve their wartime forced labor row.
The meeting is expected to be held in Seoul later this year.
Relations between the two countries have been strained for years over historical and trade disputes linked to Japan's brutal colonial rule of Korea, especially during World War II.
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