TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th June, 2021) South Korean President Moon Jae-in is planning to visit Japan during the Summer Games in Tokyo next month, Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Tuesday, citing diplomatic sources.
According to the media outlet, Moon's possible visit would be a gesture of "gratitude," as former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea's Pyeongchang.
The South Korean side is also said to be planning to hold the first bilateral summit during Moon's visit to Tokyo.
In the meantime, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato has denied the reports.
On Monday, South Korean news agency Yonhap said that Japan had unilaterally called off a meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Moon over Seoul's military maneuvers in the East Sea territory to defend the disputed Dokdo Islands.
The talks were agreed upon on the sidelines of the G7 summit in the UK seaside resort of Carbis Bay, which ended on Sunday.
The Liancourt Rocks � called Dokdo Islands by Seoul and Takeshima Islands by Tokyo � lie almost equidistant from Japan and South Korea, which maintains a small police force there. The islets have for decades been a bone of contention, with both sides stating that they have long-standing historical ties to the island group rich in natural resources.
