The vice foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan held talks on Tuesday in Tokyo, a day after it was announced South Korean President Moon Jae-in decided not to visit for the Olympics. 

First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun sat down for talks with his Japanese counterpart, Takeo Mori, at the Japanese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday afternoon. 

The talks, which lasted for about 90 minutes, saw a war of nerves between the two sides over a senior Japanese diplomat's controversial remarks about President Moon and other pending issues. 

Hirohisa Soma, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, recently made an offensive sexual comment about Moon's efforts to improve bilateral ties. 

Seoul's Foreign Ministry said Choi protested Soma's "undiplomatic and rude" remarks and asked Tokyo to take appropriate action as soon as possible. 

According to Japan's Kyodo News, Mori said Japan cannot accept South Korean court rulings on wartime sexual slavery and forced labor, repeating calls for Seoul to resolve the issues.

The ministry said that the two sides, however, agreed to continue efforts to resolve pending issues, based on the outcome of working-level talks that have been under way to achieve a summit between the leaders of the two nations.