Seoul – The foreign ministers of China, Japan and South Korea agreed yesterday to resume their cooperation and pave the way for a summit of their three leaders, in the latest diplomatic effort to ease tension in the region.
As China and the United States seek to mend their frayed ties, including a summit this month between Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, Beijing is concerned that Washington and its key regional allies are strengthening ties.
Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo had agreed to hold annual summits since 2008 to bolster diplomatic and economic exchanges, but disputes and the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the plan. The three leaders last met in 2019.
The diplomats met in the South Korean port of Busan for their first such meeting since 2019, after officials from the three countries agreed in September to organize a trilateral summit at the “most opportune time.”
The three ministers did not specify a timetable for the trilateral summit.
China’s Xi, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol may not be able to meet this year, but a summit is likely in the near future, South Korean national security adviser Cho Tae said. yong, to Yonhap News Television.
Source: Ambito
