South Korea is not considering expressing regrets over the deployment of a US missile defense system here as part of efforts to mend its ties with China, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Friday, dismissing reports that also suggested Beijing has made such a request.

"China has not made any request regarding our expression of regret as a precondition to holding a South Korea-China summit," a Cheong Wa Dae official told reporters while asking not to be identified.

"Because the government has not received such a request, it is also not true that the government is considering expressing regret."

The relationship between South Korea and China quickly soured after the new Moon Jae-in administration agreed to host the THAAD US missile defense system amid a series of missile provocations by North Korea.

China continues to impose what many here believe to be a de facto import ban on a wide range of South Korean products, while also prohibiting large group tours to Seoul.

Possibly hinting at thawing relations, a prominent Chinese travel agency was earlier reported to have told a South Korean partner that it was reviewing the resumption of Seoul-bound tours.

Moon and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping held their first bilateral summit in Berlin in July, shortly before the start of the Group of 20 summit in Hamburg, Germany.

The two are expected to be joined together when they both travel to Da Nang, Vietnam, next month for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. (Yonhap)