President Moon Jae-in on Sunday reiterated Korea was open to dialogue with Japan but no specific offers were made, signaling no immediate breakthrough in the strained relationship between the two neighbors.

“Our government has always kept the door open for dialogue to jointly respond not only to our two countries’ pending issues but also threats facing the world, including COVID-19 and the climate crisis,” the president said in a speech marking the 76th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule.

“For historical issues that need to be rectified, we will resolve them through actions and practices that are consistent with universal values and the standards of the international community.”

In his final Liberation Day speech as president, Moon again refrained from criticizing Japan’s wartime atrocities and put an emphasis on cooperation for a future-oriented relationship.

He also stressed the so-called two-track approach of continuing efforts to foster forward-looking bilateral relations while dealing with sensitive historic issues separately.

In the earlier years of his presidency, the liberal president used to churn out strongly-worded statements against Japan, sparking vehement protests from the neighbor and chilling the long-held rivalry.

In more recent years, the overall tone has been softened to be more reconciliatory toward Japan, which became more apparent after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga assumed the top post last September.

Sunday’s speech drew keen attention as it came after talks fell apart between the two nations on holding the first summit between Moon and Suga on the occasion of the Tokyo Olympics last month.

There were high hopes for the leaders to finally meet and talk during the highly-publicized sporting event. But they failed to narrow their differences at the last minute.

A top Japanese diplomat’s vulgar remarks comparing Moon’s reconciliatory efforts to “masturbating” also poured cold water on the prospect of the already tricky discussions.

After a series of failed talks, there was little room for Moon to come up with any new proposal in the high-stakes Liberation Day speech, according to Cheong Wa Dae sources.

With world leaders returning to face-to-face diplomacy, there are more chances for Moon and Suga to meet in multilateral meetings planned later this year, including the UN General Assembly in New York in September and the G-20 Summit in Rome in October.

There is growing speculation that a delayed trilateral meeting among Korea, China and Japan could be held within the year.

“During the talks for the Tokyo Olympics, Korea made it clear that there should be a concrete outcome guaranteed for a summit to be held between the two leaders,” a Cheong Wa Dae source said on condition of anonymity. “Arranging a summit has become a lot trickier than before.”

Observers say even when the two leaders sit together for talks, they would focus on controlling the situation so that it would not further deteriorate instead of reaching a breakthrough agreement.

Ahead of crucial elections in both nations, mending the bilateral ties may not be at the top of the leaders’ priority lists. Suga’s party leadership election is planned to be held sometime in the fall, while Moon is in his final year in office before the presidential election in March next year.