Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has denied the South Korean presidential office’s claim that the ministry announced and apologized for distorting facts about negotiations that led to Seoul’s decision to put off terminating a bilateral military intel-sharing pact.

The ministry tweeted late Sunday night that it made the announcement regarding the General Security of Military Information Agreement(GSOMIA) at 6:07 p.m. on Friday shortly after holding prior consultations with South Korean officials via diplomatic channels.

Japan's public broadcaster NHK quoted a senior Japanese Trade Ministry official as expressing deep regret over Seoul’s claim, saying that if the current state continues, Seoul and Tokyo could lose bilateral trust.  

Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun daily quoted a Japanese Foreign Ministry official as saying that Tokyo had issued no such apology to South Korea's top office regarding the Japanese Trade Ministry announcement.

The paper claimed that it appears that the South Korean top office issued the protest to Japan in an attempt to avoid domestic criticism that it made unilateral concessions to avoid the expiry of GSOMIA last Friday.