![South Korea, China, Japan leaders meet for rare summit](https://www.berlinertageblatt.de/media/shared/articles/3c/90/1f/South-Korea--China--Japan-leaders-m-166801.jpg)
-
Spacecraft to swing by Earth, Moon on path to Jupiter
-
What's the fallout of Mexican drug lords' capture?
-
Video game makers see actors as AI 'data,' says union on strike
-
Chinese qualifier Shang to face Thompson in ATP Atlanta semis
-
Concern grows as Venezuela blocks election observers
-
'Massive attack' on French rail threatens more chaos
-
'We did it!': France breathes sigh of relief after Olympics ceremony
-
Blinken, in Laos, set for talks with Chinese foreign minister
-
Regional concern grows as Venezuela blocks vote observers
-
Historic river parade, Dion show-stopper ignite Paris Olympics
-
Rainy Paris Olympic parade dampens many spectators' spirits
-
G20 pledges to work together to tax ultra-rich
-
The one of a kind Paris opening ceremony: five memorable moments
-
Justin Timberlake seeks to dismiss DUI case
-
Warner Brothers Discovery sues NBA over Amazon rights deal
-
Kobe Bryant locker, Maradona jersey up for auction in New York
-
Historic river parade launches Paris Olympics
-
Stocks rise as US inflation data boosts rate cut hopes
-
New York family of Holocaust victim reclaims Nazi-looted art
-
NASA Mars rover captures rock that could hold fossilized microbes
-
Thousands evacuate season's biggest wildfire in northern California
-
Sinaloa Cartel co-founder pleads not guilty after stunning US capture
-
Ethiopia mourns victims of landslide tragedy
-
Lady Gaga adds sparkle to star-studded Olympic show
-
Airbus and Boeing supremacy secure despite turbulence
-
Teams sail down Seine in rain-soaked Olympics opening ceremony
-
Norris hoping for more after topping Belgian practice times
-
West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third Test
-
Trump slams rivals as he meets Netanyahu in Florida
-
Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine
-
Mott's England future uncertain as ECB chief fails to offer support
-
Trump meets Israeli PM Netanyahu in Florida
-
S.African police say 95 Libyans detained at suspected military camp
-
Blinken set for talks with Chinese counterpart in Laos
-
Norris heads Piastri in McLaren one-two at Belgian GP practice
-
G20 seeks common ground on taxing super-rich
-
European medicines watchdog rejects new Alzheimer's drug
-
Harris gets vital Obama backing in battle against Trump
-
Habib, Ebden eye Alcaraz and Djokovic shocks at Olympics tennis
-
Stocks rise as inflation data boosts rate cut hopes
-
Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris opening ceremony
-
Two Sinaloa Cartel leaders face US charges after stunning capture
-
Spain train driver jailed for 2.5 years over deadly 2013 crash
-
Paris poised for Olympic opening ceremony spectacular
-
Judoka fails doping test in first case at Paris Olympics
-
Holder and Da Silva keep England at bay after West Indies collapse
-
Alpine F1 boss Bruno Famin to leave in August
-
Ethiopia declares three days of mourning after landslide tragedy
-
Brazilian dunes dotted with dazzling pools make UNESCO heritage list
-
Rain, cooling slow huge blaze in Canada's Jasper park
![South Korea, China, Japan leaders meet for rare summit](https://www.berlinertageblatt.de/media/shared/articles/3c/90/1f/South-Korea--China--Japan-leaders-m-166801.jpg)
South Korea, China, Japan leaders meet for rare summit
South Korean, Chinese and Japanese leaders met in Seoul Monday for their first trilateral summit in nearly five years, after nuclear-armed North Korea announced plans to put another satellite into orbit.
There are low expectations of any major breakthroughs at the meeting between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, but the leaders have expressed hopes it could help revitalise three-way diplomacy.
Just ahead of the summit, North Korea informed the Japanese Coast Guard of an imminent satellite launch window, confirming a recent South Korean intelligence assessment that Pyongyang would try to put another military reconnaissance satellite into orbit.
Although the North was not officially on the programme for the talks, with Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing aiming to find consensus on easier economic ground, the pending launch ensured Pyongyang made it onto the agenda.
"Any launch using ballistic missile technology would directly violate UN Security Council resolutions and undermine regional and global peace and stability," Yoon said in his opening remarks, before going into the talks.
"I believe that if North Korea launches despite warnings from the international community, the international community should respond decisively," he added.
"I hope that our three countries, who are working together as members of the UN Security Council this year will join forces to contribute to peace and prosperity in the international community by gathering wisdom and strength in the face of a global complex crisis and geopolitical conflicts," he said.
Kishida called on the North to "stop the launch", before heading into what he said he hoped would be "in-depth discussions" with his counterparts "on how concrete cooperation can be pursued in line with the present era".
Chinese Premier Li said in his opening remarks that the three countries were willing "to seek mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation" Xinhua reported.
"Li called for opposing turning economic and trade issues into political games or security matters, and rejecting protectionism as well as decoupling or the severing of supply chains," the news agency said.
North Korea is barred by multiple UN resolutions from tests using ballistic technology.
Analysts say there is significant technological overlap between space launch capabilities and the development of ballistic missiles.
China is North Korea's largest trading partner and a key diplomatic ally, and it has previously resisted condemning Pyongyang for its weapons tests, instead criticising joint US-South Korea drills for raising tension.
- Tilted diplomacy? -
After the leaders' summit, Yoon, Li and Kishida will hold a press conference, before joining a business summit aimed at boosting trade between the countries, which will also be attended by top industry leaders.
Experts have warned that, due to the three countries' starkly divergent positions on key issues including Pyongyang's nuclear threats and growing ties with Russia, it will be hard for them to form a consensus on tricky geopolitical issues.
"Despite the challenges in organising this meeting, it is unlikely to produce significant diplomatic achievements," South Korea's newspaper The Hankyoreh said in an editorial Monday.
"Nevertheless, this meeting is important because it is the only regular communication channel where the leaders of South Korea and Japan, both allies of the United States, can meet with the Chinese leader," it said.
Seoul should use the trilateral meeting "to overcome the limitations of the tilted diplomacy with Washington and Tokyo and reconstruct the framework of trilateral diplomacy of South Korea, China and Japan, which has been out of favour for some time," The Hankyoreh said.
President Xi Jinping is China's top leader, with Li serving under him as premier.
Nuclear-armed North Korea launched its first reconnaissance satellite last November in a move that drew international condemnation, with the United States calling it a "brazen violation" of UN sanctions.
Seoul said on Friday that South Korean and US intelligence authorities were "closely monitoring and tracking" presumed preparations for the launch of another military reconnaissance satellite.
"North Korea, China, and Russia have effectively claimed that launching reconnaissance satellites does not breach UN Security Council sanctions imposed on Pyongyang," Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP.
"However, considering China's involvement, it appears the North will likely hold off on any launches during the trilateral meeting, convened after a significant break, in deference to Beijing's stance."
K.Thomson--BTB