A Cheong Wa Dae official says South Korea will work toward advancing its relationship with Japan despite flaring tensions over long-running historical disputes.

Park Soo-hyun, senior presidential secretary for public communication, made the comment in a radio interview with KBS on Wednesday.

He acknowledged that Japan had canceled agreed-upon talks between the leaders of the two nations during the recent Group of Seven summit in Britain.

The secretary said both sides had worked a lot toward the talks, but refused to elaborate saying it would be "inappropriate in terms of developing the bilateral relationship."

According to a Seoul foreign ministry official, Tokyo canceled the tentative plan for the "pull-aside" meeting as it took issue with South Korea's annual military drill aimed at safeguarding the Dokdo Islets in the East Sea, which Japan also claims as its territory.

Park also expressed regret that news coverage has focused more on the canceled meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga rather than President Moon Jae-in's G7 attendance and his European state visits.