Lee Undecided on Joining 3-Party E. Asia Summit

President Lee Myung-bak has yet to decide on whether or not to participate in a trilateral summit of South Korea, Japan and China likely to be held in Japan next month, the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae said Saturday.

Japan's Kyodo News reported earlier in the day that Seoul and Tokyo are discussing the venue and the schedule of the summit meeting, saying the South Korean government had confirmed President Lee's participation in the talks.

Contradicting the Kyodo News report, however, the presidential office said in a statement that President Lee's participation in the summit has yet to be decided.

"There has been no decision as to whether President Lee will join the talks," Kim Sung-hwan, senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs and national security, told Yonhap News Agency by phone.

He added that the three nations have yet to settle on a schedule for the talks, which are to involve President Lee, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

Japanese news media said in mid-August that the governments of Japan, China and South Korea will hold a summit meeting to discuss global issues such as environmental and economic problems and regional matters including North Korea's nuclear programs, on Sept. 21 in Kobe, Japan.