China, Japan, and South Korea hold first high-level meeting in nearly five years

A meeting was held between Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul. This is the first tripartite meeting of the three countries since 2019, aimed at resuming negotiations on free trade and security, reported by Reuters.

As the summit opened, Li said the talks were "both a restart and a new beginning" and called for the comprehensive resumption of cooperation between East Asia's economic powerhouses.

After the tripartite summit, the parties made a joint statement in which they support the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and the restoration of stability in North-East of Asia.

During the summit, the parties also agreed to speed up the negotiations on the agreement on free trade, "to achieve a free, comprehensive, high-quality, and mutually beneficial economic partnership agreement".

Trade and economy, humanitarian exchanges, sustainable development and response to climate change, health care and population aging, science and technology, as well as cooperation in combating the consequences of disasters were among the main topics of the trilateral talks.