South Korea proposed holding a trilateral summit with Japan and China in December, the first in four years, during a meeting of the three countries’ senior officials held in Seoul on Tuesday, according to diplomatic sources.
Seoul also suggested that a joint declaration be issued following the planned summit, with neither Tokyo nor Beijing voicing opposition to the proposals, according to the sources.
The annual three-way summit has been suspended since December 2019.
The hiatus was largely due to a low ebb in relations between Japan and South Korea over wartime issues, but the two governments have made dramatic progress in mending ties this year and held a three-way summit with the United States in mid-August.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement the three nations’ officials agreed to hold the trilateral summit at the earliest possible time and to continue discussions about it.
Tuesday’s meeting was participated in by South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Chung Byung Won, Japanese Senior Deputy Foreign Minister Takehiro Funakoshi and Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Nong Rong.
By Nadeem Faisal Baiga
