South Korea's top court upheld a ruling in favor of the government in its refusal to release documents from the negotiations that produced the 2015 settlement on Japan's wartime sexual slavery between Seoul and Tokyo.

In its decision on Thursday, the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal against the appellate court's ruling in a suit filed by local lawyer Song Ki-ho seeking the declassification of the documents.

Standing by the legal validity of the lower court’s ruling, the top court said that there was no misunderstanding on the part of the government with its decision not to release the documents.

An official of the top court said the nine-member bench has accepted the earlier decision that there is a greater benefit from not disclosing information from the closed-door negotiation than from publicizing it.

After the suit was filed in February 2016 by Song, the first court ordered the release of the documents, citing the benefit to the public in fulfilling its right to know.

The appeals court, however, reversed the decision, citing concern over serious damage to the diplomatic trust between the two countries, as well as a possible misinterpretation.