Foreign ministers of Korea, Japan, China to meet in Busan on Sunday

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, left, shakes hands with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi ahead of the bilateral talks in Jakarta, Indonesia, on July 14. [YONHAP]

The foreign ministers of South Korea, China and Japan will hold trilateral talks in Busan on Sunday following the North's launch of a military spy satellite earlier this week.

Foreign Minister Park Jin, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa will meet for discussions on ways to develop trilateral cooperation and other regional and global issues, Seoul's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday.

The last three-way foreign ministerial meeting was held more than four years ago, in August 2019.

The ministers will also discuss preparations to resume a trilateral summit among the leaders of the three countries, which were suspended since late 2019, the ministry said.

A trilateral summit could take place later this year or early next year if discussions go smoothly.

The last summit of the three countries' leaders took place in China's Chengdu in December 2019. The trilateral summit has been on hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic and frayed relations between Seoul and Tokyo over their historical and trade disputes.

While the South Korea-China-Japan consultative body usually focuses on discussions in areas of substantive and future-oriented cooperation rather than sensitive diplomatic and security issues, the regional situations such as North Korea may also be discussed this time around.

During a vice foreign ministerial meeting in September, the three countries identified six areas to enhance cooperation: people-to-people exchanges, science, technology and digal sector, sustainable development and climate change, health and an aging society, the economy and trade and security.

Park will also hold separate bilateral talks with Wang and Kamikawa and host the two ministers to a luncheon meeting before their trilateral talks.

Wang and Kamikawa are expected to arrive in Busan on Saturday.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]