A Japanese media outlet reported on Wednesday that South Korea is mulling easing its ban on fishery imports from multiple Japanese prefectures.

According to Kyodo News, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said on Wednesday during a speech in Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture that Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told him that Seoul is discussing easing its import ban on landlocked prefectures.

Kono and Kang met briefly last Friday at the G20 summit in Osaka. 

Seoul's Foreign Ministry, however, dismissed the report as groundless, saying that Seoul puts the people's health and safety first and it will continue to do so.

South Korea has restricted 28 kinds of fish caught from eight prefectures near Fukushima since September 2013, citing concerns over radiation levels following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

The World Trade Organization upheld the ban in a final decision issued earlier this year.