Ahead of a summit with President Moon Jae-in, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has reiterated that South Korea would need to keep its promises on the contentious issue of wartime forced labor. 

According to Kyodo News on Monday, Abe urged South Korea to keep its promises regarding the issue in an apparent reference to the 1965 treaty that normalized Seoul-Tokyo relations. 

Abe added that he will convey Japan's position to President Moon.

Abe reportedly made the remarks to reporters in Tokyo before departing for China for a trilateral summit with Beijing and Seoul.

He also told reporters that relations between the two Asian neighbors are currently in a difficult state, but stressed the importance of bilateral and trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan in light of the security condition in East Asia. 

Abe and Moon will meet for bilateral summit talks on Tuesday in the Chinese city of Chengdu.