Seoul: Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi is expected to skip an annual security forum in Seoul early next week, sources familiar with the matter said Friday, a move seen as related to his recent visit to a controversial war shrine in Tokyo that drew criticism from Seoul.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Koizumi will not attend the Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD), set for Monday through Wednesday, with multiple sources confirming his absence. Instead, a vice defense minister from Tokyo will be present in his place, as announced by Seoul's defense ministry.

Koizumi had been widely anticipated to participate in the upcoming forum, given the recent increase in high-level defense diplomacy between Japan and South Korea amid a warming of bilateral relations. His predecessor, Gen Kanatani, attended last year's SDD, reinforcing expectations of Koizumi's presence this year.

Although the exact reason for his absence remains unclear, Koizumi's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine last month is believed to have influenced the decision. The shrine, which honors Japanese war dead including 14 Class A criminals convicted in international tribunals for their roles in World War II, has been a point of contention. Visits by Japanese leaders to the site have been consistently denounced by neighboring countries, which view such actions as glorifying Japan's militaristic past.

Had Koizumi attended next week's forum, he and South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back would have conducted their fourth bilateral talks in just over two months. The two defense ministers have already met three times this year, including during a security forum in Singapore in May and Koizumi's reciprocal visit to Seoul in late June following Ahn's trip to Japan in January.