"As you can see in the statement released yesterday, that part was not jointly mentioned by President Moon and President Trump. It was said by President Trump and President Moon decided not to put his name down for that part, frankly because it was a new concept he had heard for the first time," the official told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official noted that the idea of forming an alliance or a regional bloc in the Indo-Pacific area was first proposed and promoted by Japan.

"We listened to what President Trump had to say, and that was simply that because we believe it would not be desirable for us to take part in such a regime for now, considering current global conditions and issues," the official said.

"We have never reviewed the idea, and it is not something we can say whether we agree with or not at the moment." (Yonhap)