South Korean and Japanese senior officials failed to narrow their differences on key issues at a meeting Thursday.

Kim Jeong-han, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau, met with his Japanese counterpart Kenji Kanasugi in Seoul and presented their government's respective positions on Japan's wartime forced labor and other issues.

A Seoul official said that there exists a large gap between the two sides and that there was no substantial progress at the meeting.

During the meeting with Kanasugi, Kim expressed “deep regret” over Japan's removal of South Korea from a shortlist of trusted trading partners, repeating calls for the immediate reversal of the move. 

Kim then stressed that the two nations should hold unconditional and sincere dialogue as soon as possible to resolve the dispute. Kanasugi reportedly said he would convey Seoul's position to Japan's Trade Ministry.

The two sides are reported to have also discussed a South Korean top court ruling that ordered Japanese firms to compensate South Korean victims of wartime forced labor. 

However, both sides failed to iron out their different interpretations of the ruling.