Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong left for Britain on Sunday to attend a Group of Seven (G7) meeting for discussions on access to COVID-19 vaccines, climate change and other global issues.

The first in-person gathering of G7 foreign and development ministers in over two years is slated to take place in London from Monday to Wednesday. Though not party to it, South Korea, Australia, India, South Africa and Brunei, the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, have been invited as guests.

On the margins of the session, Chung is set to meet bilaterally with his US, British, Indian and European Union counterparts -- Antony Blinken, Dominic Raab, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Josep Borrell.

The multilateral forum could set the stage for Chung's first talks with his Japanese counterpart, Toshimitsu Motegi. Diplomatic efforts have been under way to arrange the bilateral talks, as well as a trilateral meeting involving Secretary Blinken.

During their talks, Chung and Blinken are expected to discuss a diplomatic approach to North Korea's nuclear issue, as Washington has set its policy toward the recalcitrant regime.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Friday that the US policy to the North calls for a "calibrated, practical" approach, and will not focus on achieving a grand bargain nor will it rely on strategic patience, a term that refers to an Obama-era approach of waiting for the North to signal a change in its behavior while maintaining diplomatic and economic pressure.

Also drawing keen attention is the possibility that Chung and Motegi could meet for the first time in their current capacities.

Chung has made overtures for dialogue with Motegi "in any format," but Motegi has not acceded to that call amid protracted rows over Tokyo's wartime forced labor, sexual slavery and export curbs.

The agenda for the G7 meeting includes joint efforts to ensure equitable access to vaccines, recover from the pandemic, support girls' education in underdeveloped countries and tackle climate change. (Yonhap)