Top China, Japan, South Korea diplomats to meet Sunday ahead of possible leaders' summit

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) – The top diplomats of China, Japan, and South Korea are expected to meet on Sunday ahead of a possible summit of their countries’ leaders after a nearly four-year hiatus.

Wang Yi will visit Busan, South Korea to attend the meeting, the Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed in a statement on Saturday. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa is also expected to arrive later Saturday, Seoul-based Yonhap News reported.

The three diplomats are likely to discuss the resumption of trilateral summits among the leaders of their countries after a lengthy hiatus, according to the report.

South Korea, the current chair of the summit, is pushing to host the leaders’ summit before the end of this year. The summits have been on hold since December 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and tense relations between Seoul and Tokyo.

But relations between the two countries improved after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol took office last May.

At the meeting, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin is also expected to bring up North Korea’s recent launch of a military spy satellite and ongoing tension in the Korean Peninsula, as China has good ties with Pyongyang

North Korea on Saturday claimed that its spy satellite had taken photos of important sites, including Mokpho, Kunsan, Phyongthaek, Osan, and the capital Seoul.

The US’ largest overseas military installation is located in Pyeongtaek, while it has military bases in Gunsan and Osan.

On Friday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was briefed by aerospace officials about the new photos, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

The National Aerospace Technology Administration “reported to him on the plan for photographing the enemy region and the additional fine-tuning process of the reconnaissance satellite," the agency said on Saturday.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid