(LEAD) Seoul, Beijing, Tokyo FMs agree to maintain cooperation

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details from para 4)
By Tony Chang
SHANGHAI, Sept. 28 (Yonhap) -- Top diplomats from South Korea, China, and Japan
agreed Monday to further bolster three-way exchanges and cooperative projects.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan, Japan's newly named Foreign Minister
Katsuya Okada and their Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, met here for the third
annual trilateral talks.
In a joint press statement released by the Chinese foreign minister, the three
countries agreed on the need to maintain "comprehensive cooperation in a
future-oriented manner."
The foreign ministers also agreed to fine-tune details for the upcoming three-way
summit set for Oct. 10 in Beijing.
Monday's talks coincided with series of cross-signals and a flurry of activities
that appear to be leading up to bilateral contact between Pyongyang and
Washington to revive stalled six-nation denuclearization talks involving the
three countries that met here. The talks also include the United States, Japan
and Russia.
The joint statement issued after a two-hour closed-door session, however, did not
include any references to North Korea's nuclear issue.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il told a Chinese envoy earlier this month that his
nation is committed to denuclearization and "peace and stability" on the Korean
Peninsula, signaling a possible return to the six-nation talks. He told the envoy
that Pyongyang would engage in bilateral and multilateral talks, but did not
specify the six-way forum.
Beijing and the North's state media confirmed Monday that Chinese Premier Wen
Jiabao will travel to Pyongyang Oct. 4-6.
The trilateral foreign ministers' meeting was launched in 2007, and each party
has since taken turns hosting, with the inaugural gathering held on South Korea's
resort island of Jeju and the second session in Tokyo last year.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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