S. Korea denies report of unification minister's possible visit to Japan

South Korea's unification ministry on Wednesday denied a Japanese report that Seoul's top point man on unification is likely to visit Japan early next month to exchange views about North Korea with officials there.

Japan's Asahi Sinmun newspaper reported that Seoul is adjusting the schedule of Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo to push for his visit to Japan in June. The Korean government hopes that Hong may have meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Tokyo's top diplomat Fumio Kishida, it reported.

But the Seoul government dismissed the report as groundless, saying that there is no such plan.

"The government had considered the visit, but currently, we do not have such a plan," said an official at the ministry, which handles cross-border affairs.

North Korea has launched a charm offensive toward Seoul by proposing to hold inter-Korean talks since its rare party congress, which concluded its four-day run on May 9.

Seoul has rejected the North's offer, calling on the communist country to give up its nuclear and missile development program. (Yonhap)