The office of South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday denied Japanese media reports that he had asked to attend an upcoming summit of "the Quad," which includes the United States, India, Australia and Japan, as an observer.
"We have checked around about that report but it is not true and something that was not discussed with us," his spokesperson, Bae Hyun-jin, said during a regular briefing.
Asked about possible summits with U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Bae added Yoon "welcomes" early meetings.
Tokyo also denied any request from Yoon had been received.
"Japan has not received any request mentioned in a media report," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, the government's top spokesman, told a regular news conference.
Yoon, who will take office on May 10, is working to map out his foreign policy directions, with a potential summit in Seoul with Biden during his Asia trip when he visits Japan.