Tokyo on Monday denied a report that Japan unilaterally broke an agreement to hold brief talks between Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the fringes of the Group of Seven summit in the United Kingdom.
Citing a South Korean Foreign Ministry official, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Monday that Japan had called off the planned "pull-aside" meeting between the two leaders due to a regular military exercise South Korea is due to hold around a group of islets claimed by Tokyo in the Sea of Japan.
South Korea plans to hold the defense drill on and around the islets on Tuesday, Yonhap reported. Japan calls the group Takeshima and regards them as "an inherent part" of its territory. South Korea, which controls them, calls them Dokdo.