Japan, China, South Korea foreign ministers to meet August 23-24

Foreign ministers from Japan, China and South Korea will meet in Tokyo on Aug. 23 and 24 to exchange views on cooperation and regional and international issues, the Japanese and South Korean foreign ministries said on Monday.

A senior Japanese foreign ministry official said last month that Japan was considering hosting the annual trilateral meeting in late August, but a flare-up in Sino-Japanese tensions had stoked worries that the meeting may not take place.

Sino-Japanese ties were strained this month after a growing number of Chinese coastguard and other government ships sailed near a group of disputed islets in the East China Sea.

The meeting will be an opportunity for the three foreign ministers to discuss pressing regional issues such as North Korea’s nuclear and missile developments and to lay the groundwork for a trilateral summit Tokyo is set to host this year.

Source: Reuters