ⓒYONHAP News

President Moon Jae-in chose not to visit Japan for the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, which took place on Friday, effectively ruling out his first one-on-one summit with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Communication Park Soo-hyun announced the decision on Monday, negating an earlier report by Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun that said Moon plans to attend the Olympic event and also hold a summit with the Japanese prime minister.

Secretary Park said the two countries made meaningful discussions on pending historical issues and on the direction of future-oriented cooperation while keeping in mind the possibility of holding a bilateral summit in time for the Tokyo Games.

Park said, although their differences in understanding of the issues have been considerably narrowed, it was still insufficient to be considered a potential outcome of a summit. He added all other related situations were taken into account before the decision was reached.

Suga on Monday said that he hopes to continue communication with South Korea in order to restore a healthy relationship between the two nations.

Suga made the remarks to reporters after Seoul's presidential office announced that President Moon Jae-in has decided not to visit Japan for the Tokyo Olympics.

Suga reiterated that he would receive Moon with diplomatic courtesy if he visits, adding he has put significance on Seoul's top office wishing Japan a successful Olympics.

The prime minister then said he hopes to continue to communicate properly with the South Korean government as has been Japan’s consistent position in order to restore a healthy relationship between the two nations.

Moon in turn reportedly expressed regrets over his scrapped Tokyo trip and summit with the Japanese leader, but ordered the government to continue working-level consultations with Tokyo.

Meanwhile, Korea’s First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun met with his counterparts from the United States and Japan for trilateral talks on Wednesday.

Choi said Seoul, Washington and Tokyo are on the same page regarding the direction of diplomacy on the peace process involving North Korea's denuclearization.

Choi emphasized the importance of their strategic coordination in what he called the "long game" of denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.

Assessing that the trilateral coordination is believed to have sent a clear message to North Korea, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Washington hopes for a positive response on dialogue.

Regarding President Moon Jae-in's nixed trip to Japan, Choi said Seoul and Tokyo have agreed to continue working-level efforts toward resolving their long-disputed historical and diplomatic issues.

Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Mori also pledged to continue talks with Seoul to improve bilateral ties.

Sherman then visited Seoul where she met with President Moon. The two are believed to have discussed strengthening the South Korea-U.S. alliance and advancing in the peace process involving North Korea's denuclearization.