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Tokyo proposed summits with Seoul and Beijing, with the new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visiting Korea on Oct. 7 and China on Oct. 8, a Foreign Ministry official said Friday. Cheong Wa Dae, however, declined since Oct. 7 is the Saturday right after Chuseok or Korean Thanksgiving day right in the middle of celebrations, sources said. “We are discussing ways to hold a summit with Japan after Chuseok and before mid-October,” a Cheong Wa Dae official said.

Cheong Wa Dae and the ministry are also reportedly waiting what position the new Japanese prime minister will express on Japan’s history and territorial claims to Korea’s Dokdo islets. “The government’s position on history issues is unchanged,” a Cheong Wa Dae official said. “Japan is well aware of this, and we think that it will give a response regarding the issues.” If discussions proceed well, chances are that the summits take place around the summit between Seoul and Beijing on Oct. 13.

(englishnews@chosun.com )