The Japanese government offered an apology to South Korea on Friday over announcements by Japan's Trade Ministry regarding Seoul's decision not to pull out of a bilateral military intel-sharing deal earlier in the day.

Government sources in Seoul said on Tuesday that the South Korean Foreign Ministry summoned a senior official from the Japanese Embassy in Seoul on Friday night to protest a briefing by Japan's Trade Ministry regarding Seoul's decision. 

The official, a minister for political affairs at the embassy, conveyed an apology from the Japanese vice foreign minister for the briefing. 

At around the same time that Seoul announced it would extend the General Security of Military Information Agreement(GSOMIA), the Japanese Trade Ministry said in a briefing that there will be no immediate changes to its export restrictions against South Korea. 

According to sources, the South Korean Foreign Ministry told the diplomat that Tokyo distorted the details when describing a bilateral agreement to launch high-level talks to assess South Korean and Japanese export management schemes. 

Under the agreement, Tokyo would also reconsider trade curbs against Seoul placed on certain items. 

The two sides have been mired in a dispute over the GSOMIA decision following divergent media descriptions and government remarks from Seoul and Tokyo, respectively.