A presidential official has confirmed that South Korea and Japan are coordinating a timetable for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to visit Seoul early next month for a summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol.

In a phone interview with KBS on Saturday, the official said talks are underway for the Japanese leader to visit South Korea before he hosts the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima from May 19 to the 21.

However, a date has yet to be determined.

Yoon and Kishida agreed to resume their so-called shuttle diplomacy when Yoon visited Japan last month. The last Japanese prime minister to visit South Korea was Shinzo Abe in February 2018 during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

Kyodo News on Saturday also speculated that the push to arrange the prime minister's visit to Seoul ahead of the G7 summit is an effort to improve bilateral relations and better respond to North Korea's ballistic missile programs.

Kishida has already invited Yoon to the G7 gathering with a one-on-one expected on the sidelines. A trilateral summit with the U.S. will also likely take place.