National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han speaks to reporters after arriving at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, Sept. 2, from Hawaii, where he held talks with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts. Yonhap

South Korea and Japan have discussed the timing of a possible summit between their leaders, Seoul's top security adviser said Friday, leaving open the possibility of the meeting taking place as early as later this month at a United Nations session.

"We've discussed the detailed timing (with Japan), but I think it's too early to say it now," National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han told reporters upon arrival at Incheon International Airport after a trilateral meeting with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts in Hawaii.

"During multinational talks, including at the U.N. or before and after that if necessary, leaders of the two countries will likely have a chance to meet and seek solutions in the form of shuttle diplomacy," he added.

When asked about whether the summit can be held during the upcoming U.N General Assembly next week, he said, "We leave the possibility open."

Kim said that in Hawaii, he and his Japanese counterpart Takeo Akiba shared opinions that if thorny historical issues, like Japan's wartime forced labor, are resolved, other pending matters between the two nations will be ironed out.

Relations between South Korea and Japan have suffered in recent years due to disputes stemming from Tokyo's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, including the issues of wartime sex slaves and forced labor.

The Seoul-Tokyo summit meeting has not been held since December 2019.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has expressed a commitment to improving the frayed relations with Japan and had encounters with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in June. (Yonhap)