Negotiations over South Korea's proposal to host a trilateral summit with Japan and China within the year are reportedly facing delays due to the busy schedule of Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi.

According to Japan's Mainichi Shimbun daily on Friday, the date for a meeting of the three countries' foreign ministers, which would discuss details of the first summit meeting in four years, is yet to be finalized.

This is, according to the Japanese daily, because Wang is busy fulfilling the duties of both director of the Communist Party's Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs and foreign minister, a post he was appointed to upon the dismissal of Qin Gang in July.

The Mainichi said the negotiations were aiming to hold the ministerial meeting in Busan in November, but the lack of scheduling coordination has now put the meeting in doubt, adding that there is speculation that the summit may even be postponed until next year.

Earlier, Japan's Kyodo News said Seoul had proposed the ministerial meeting to take place around November 26.