On Sunday, Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported that US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had urged Seoul to join the Quad during a trilateral meeting with his counterparts from Japan and South Korea in early April. The South Korean government reportedly refrained from giving any response.
"This is not true," the press service said, as quoted by South Korean newspaper The Chosun Ilbo, adding "The news piece is extremely inaccurate and does not reflect the content of the negotiations."
The presidential press service described it as "regrettable" that an article like that had appeared in the media.
In late March, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin paid a visit to South Korea. South Korean media interpreted the high-level visit as a sign of the formation of an anti-Chinese coalition, noting that Washington was seeking to expand the Quad's role.
South Korea has so far not explicitly stated any official position on whether or not it intended to join the Quad.