As for skepticism about Moon's push for a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Ko Min-jung, Moon's spokesperson, said, "We are keeping the door open to (the holding of) the Korea-Japan summit."

Japan strongly indicated Abe won't hold a one-on-one meeting with Moon during the Group of 20 session, as he's displeased with the Moon government's attitude toward Japan's wartime forced labor.

Many Koreans were forced to toil at Japanese factories during World War II when Korea was under its brutal colonization in 1910-1945. South Korean courts ordered relevant Japanese firms to provide compensation for the forced labor.

Early this week, South Korea proposed to Japan that companies from both nations set up a joint fund to compensate the forced labor victims, but Tokyo effectively rejected the offer.

"(At the G-20 summit), Moon will stress the need for international cooperation and policy coordination to stabilize the global financial system and ease trade frictions, and plans to explain the government's push to build an innovative and inclusive nation and peace efforts with North Korea," Ko added. (Yonhap)