US welcomes China-Japan-ROK trilateral FMs meeting

WASHINGTON -- The United States on Tuesday welcomed a trilateral meeting to be resumed among the foreign ministers of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK), calling it a "positive sign."

"As you know, we've long been supportive of dialog between these countries and strong relationships in the region," State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki told reporters at a daily news briefing, noting this is the first meeting of its kind in three years.

"And so that is certainly a positive sign," she added.

During their meeting slated for March 21 in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, the top envoys of the three countries will take stock of the development in trilateral cooperation and exchange views on the principles for cooperation and the direction of future development, said Hong Lei, a spokesman with China's Foreign Ministry.

The first foreign ministers' meeting among the three countries was held in June 2007 and had been held annually since.

The sixth meeting was held in April 2012, but the following years saw a suspension of the gathering as China-Japan and ROK- Japan relations soured due to rows over historical and territorial issues.