Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono says Tokyo will not respond to Seoul’s protest that a Japanese maritime patrol aircraft made a threatening close-range flight toward a Korean warship.

It is known that Kono made the remark during closed-door talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday. 

When Kang expressed regret over three flybys this month alone, Kono was said to have denied the incidents, saying he was not aware of any such flights. 

He then reportedly expressed regret over South Korea making public claims and called for a coolheaded response from Seoul. 

According to Seoul’s Foreign Ministry, Kang told Kono it is not desirable for a technical military issue to become a contentious political one, and raised the need to resolve the matter through bilateral working-level discussions between defense authorities.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported on Wednesday that a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force P-3 aircraft flew threateningly low and close to the South Korean destroyer Daejoyeong on Wednesday, following two similar incidents earlier this month.