Left on the South Korean leader's schedule in terms of sideline diplomacy is a summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin later today at around 11 PM.
It is likely that the leaders will have an in-depth discussion on the latest developments on the Korean Peninsula, this just a day after President Moon had held a discussion on North Korea with Chinese president.
South Korean President is likely to call for Russia's active role in carrying the denuclearization drive on the Korean Peninsula and exchange the Putin's take from his latest summit meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong-un in April this year.
Also there's a possibility of another sideline summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe-- given that the Japan is a host nation to the G20 Summit.
Although Korea's presidential office said there is no Seoul-Tokyo summit scheduled-- it added that Korea is always ready to hold one if Japan wishes to.
Meeting a day before the curtain comes up on the G20 Summit in Osaka, visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sat down to discuss improving their long-strained bilateral ties.
According to a statement released by the Japanese Foreign Press Secretary on Thursday, the two leaders agreed to "have permanent and close communication as eternal neighbors".
China-Japan ties have been uneasy for decades due to a territorial dispute over a group of uninhabited East China Sea islets, as well as the bloody legacy of Japan's wartime aggressions.
During the meeting, Abe asked China to "exercise self-restraint over its activities" around the Japan-held Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, and emphasized the importance of demilitarizing the disputed islands, which are called Diaoyu in China.
The two leaders also stressed the importance of promoting free and fair trade in the face of an increasingly complicated global economic situation.
Watchers say the U.S.-China trade war is pushing Beijing to improve ties with Tokyo, which is also facing U.S. pressure on trade, especially regarding its automobile and farm sectors.
The two countries began their pledge to forge closer ties last October when Abe visited Beijing, and signed a wide range of agreements, which included a currency swap pact.
Abe invited Xi for a state visit next spring, which the Chinese leader accepted.
On the sidelines of the G20 today, the leaders of the U.S., Japan and India held bilateral and trilateral talks.
Before they started, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that he would be discussing Japan's purchases of U.S. military equipment and bilateral trade issues as part of reducing America's huge trade deficits.
Trump has criticized the U.S.-Japan security alliance as unfair to the U.S.
Tokyo, however, has said that the two governments are not looking at revising the pact.
Later in the day came Trump's summit with the Indian leader Narendra Modi, with whom Trump agreed to work together in many areas including defense.
Visiting U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun has just wrapped up a meeting in Seoul with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Do-hoon.
Their meeting lasted for about an hour and a half, and focused on ways to resume talks with the North as well as narrowing down the denuclearization issues for their leaders to discuss when they meet this weekend.
Biegun will meet Seoul's Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul this afternoon.
Kim is expected to update Biegun on inter-Korean ties, including Seoul's plans to provide 50-thousand tons of rice aid to the North.
There has been speculation about Biegun's possible contact with the North Koreans, but it doesn't seem likely as he will be busy with his own team and U.S. officials at the embassy, to prepare for President Trump's visit to Seoul this weekend.
Source: Arirang News
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