S. Korean, Chinese, Japanese FMs to meet in Beijing next month

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, June 16 (Yonhap) -- The foreign ministers of South Korea, China, and Japan
are expected to hold their annual trilateral meeting in Beijing next month to
discuss the North Korean nuclear issue and other regional concerns, a diplomatic
source here said Tuesday.

"China recently proposed that the gathering be held in Beijing in July," the
source said. The three regional powers launched the meeting of their top
diplomats in 2007 and have since taken turns hosting it. The inaugural gathering
took place in South Korea's resort island of Jeju, and the second session was
held in Tokyo last year.
"The related countries are in the final stage of fixing a date for this year's
meeting," the source said.
Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan plans to attend the event en route to Phuket,
where he will participate in the ASEAN Regional Forum, slated for July 16-23, or
on his way back to South Korea, according to the source.
Meanwhile, South Korea, China, and Japan will likely hold their yearly three-way
summit in August in China, though probably not in Beijing, added the source
Cooperation among the three countries on the North Korean nuclear issue gained
particular urgency after the communist neighbor's second nuclear test in May.
Tensions are running high as the North has threatened to produce more
plutonium-based bombs and start a full-scale uranium enrichment program as well
as respond militarily to any U.S.-led attempt to further isolate Pyongyang.
A new U.N. Security Council resolution to punish Pyongyang for its nuclear test
calls for tighter cargo inspections, an arms embargo and tougher financial
sanctions.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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