The leaders of South Korea and Japan are unlikely to hold summit talks at the G20 summit in Osaka next week. 

Japan's Sankei Shimbun daily reported on Wednesday that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has decided to hold off a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of the global forum.

The report said that Abe decided he could not have a fruitful summit with Moon as South Korea is not giving any signs that bilateral relations can improve at present.

The daily said that Abe made the decision after Seoul refused to accept Tokyo's calls for the establishment of an arbitration committee to discuss recent South Korean Supreme Court rulings in favor of victims of Japan's wartime forced labor. 

When asked about Seoul's position regarding such a committee, a South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday during a press briefing that Seoul respects the top court's rulings and is dealing with the case prudently in light of the need to establish future-oriented bilateral relations with Japan.

Citing the remarks, Sankei said that Seoul effectively rejected Tokyo's calls, leading Abe to decide to hold off a summit with Moon.