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South Korea, China foreign ministers agree to seek talks with Japan

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi

01 September 2023 18:58 (UTC +04:00)

The South Korean and Chinese foreign ministers agreed Thursday to enhance talks with Japan, both governments said, as Seoul is seeking to host a trilateral summit by the end of this year, APA reports citing Kyodo News.

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin talked with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi over the phone after his country's ambassador to the United States said in Washington that Seoul, as the chair of the three-way dialogue, has been working to realize their first trilateral summit in about four years.

Wang told Park that China supports South Korea playing an active role "in promoting trilateral cooperation," according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The leaders from the three neighboring countries last met in China in December 2019.

South Korea has served as chair since 2020, but the three countries have failed to hold a summit due mainly to tensions and disputes over issues related to Japan's past colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula and China's naval activities in the East China Sea.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry said Park and Wang also agreed to realize regular reciprocal visits by the foreign ministers to each other's country and bilateral dialogues focusing on diplomatic and security issues.

Park told Wang that North Korea has launched ballistic missiles in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions and expressed hope China will help denuclearlize the country, it said.