S. Korea, China, Japan to hold senior-level diplomatic talks

SEOUL - South Korea, China and Japan will hold a senior-level diplomatic dialogue in Seoul on Thursday to discuss trilateral cooperation, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

The meeting will bring together South Korea's deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Lee Kyung-soo, Chinese vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin and Japanese deputy Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama.

During the trilateral meeting, the high-level diplomats will review cooperation between the three countries while exchanging views over mutual concerns, the South Korean foreign ministry said.

The meeting, set to be held for the first time since November 2013, reportedly would discuss whether to hold the trilateral summit and the ministerial meeting between the three nations, which have not been held for more than two years.

The summit, where the South Korean president talks with prime ministers of China and Japan about non-political issues such as economy, culture and personnel exchange, has not been held since May 2012 because of territorial disputes and historical problems.

During the meeting, the three diplomats would also talk about maritime cooperation and cyber security as a new cooperation project for next year.

Lee and Liu already held their separate bilateral talks in the morning before attending the trilateral meeting with Sugiyama in the afternoon. Lee and Sugiyama were expected to hold the bilateral talks on Friday.