Seoul batted away a proposal by the U.S. for fighter jets from Japan, the U.S. and South Korea to fly in formation over South Korea in response to North Korea's nuclear tests, the Asahi Shimbun reported Tuesday.

The U.S. sounded out the idea immediately after the North's latest nuclear test, but Seoul demurred, citing fierce resistance here to any renewed Japanese military presence, a source told the daily.

Instead, a couple of the U.S.' B-1B bombers buzzed South Korean skies last month as a show of force. The U.S. had hoped to make the event a show of unity among its allies in the region, who are roughly pitted against an alliance between China and North Korea.

Japan in turn refused South Korean F-15Ks fighters permission to pass through Japanese airspace en route to a multinational aerial exercise in Alaska earlier this month.

Tokyo said it reserves permission to overfly for the U.S., which has a status of forces agreement with Japan, the newspaper added.

South Korea's Defense Ministry denied the report.

