The leaders of China, Japan and South Korea agreed on Wednesday to cooperate in seeking peace on the Korean peninsula against the backdrop of historic diplomatic moves by North Korea and a push for the isolated country to give up its nuclear weapons
TOKYO (Reuters) – The leaders of China, Japan and South Korea agreed on Wednesday to cooperate in seeking peace on the Korean peninsula against the backdrop of historic diplomatic moves by North Korea and a push for the isolated country to give up its nuclear weapons.
North Korea figured prominently in talks between the three leaders in Tokyo after South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s historic meeting last month with the North’s Kim Jong Un.
Kim is expected to have a summit soon with U. S. President Donald Trump.
Leaders of the three Asian powers, whose ties have at times been strained by territorial and historical disputes, also touched on economics, in the face of U. S. trade pressure on China and Japan.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe praised efforts by Moon and China to engage North Korea and said further efforts on denuclearization were essential.
“We must take the recent momentum toward denuclearization on the Korean peninsula and toward peace and security in Northeast Asia, and, cooperating even further with international society, make sure this is linked to concrete action by North Korea,” Abe told a news conference after the meeting.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also attended the three-way summit, which was last held in Seoul in 2015.
Moon said the three countries agreed to highlight unity as the two Koreas moved toward a permanent peace settlement.
