Korea, China, Japan to hold summit in Fukuoka Dec. 14

By Yoo Cheong-mo
SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea, China and Japan are scheduled to hold a
tripartite summit in Fukuoka, Japan, in the middle of next month for discussion
on closer cooperation in overcoming the global financial crisis, a ranking
official at the South Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday.
"The three countries have reached a tentative agreement to hold a meeting of
President Lee Myung-bak, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and Chinese Premier Wen
Jiabao in the Japanese city of Fukuoka on Dec. 14," said the official on
condition of anonymity.
"There will soon be a formal announcement on the first tripartite summit to be
held outside the framework of multilateral summit talks," the official said.
South Korea, China and Japan have annually held a tripartite summit on the
sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Plus Three
summit.
The first tripartite summit of South Korea, China and Japan was to take place in
September, but was put on hold due to a leadership change in Tokyo and Japan's
provocative claim to South Korean islets of Dokdo.
In particular, Lee, Aso and Wen are expected to discuss speeding up tripartite
cooperation to materialize an US$80 billion Asian monetary fund, which was agreed
upon during their meeting with leaders of 10 ASEAN member states on the sidelines
of the Asia-Europe Meeting summit in Beijing last month. The ASEAN Plus Three
countries agreed to create the $80 billion joint fund by next June and to push
for the establishment of a regional economic surveillance organization to ensure
greater financial stability in the region.
Lee and Aso held their first summit in Beijing on Oct. 24 and agreed to cooperate
more closely to combat the global financial crisis and accelerate the
denuclearization of North Korea. They also agreed to pursue a "mature
partnership" between South Korea and Japan and resume bilateral shuttle summit
diplomacy, long suspended following the outbreak of bilateral territorial and
historical conflicts earlier this year.
Fukuoka, the venue of the upcoming three-way summit, is Aso's hometown.
ycm@yna.co.kr
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