Leaders from China, Japan, and South Korea said Monday they want to speed up negotiations to reach a free trade deal. 

Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met in Seoul for the first three-way talks in more than four years.

"We will keep discussions for speeding up negotiations for a trilateral free trade agreement," they said after the rare trilateral summit, adding that they wanted the deal to be "free, fair, comprehensive, high-quality, and mutually beneficial."

US ties complicate economic talks

Negotiations between East Asia's economic powerhouses on a three-party trade agreement stalled in 2019, but Li said Monday's trilateral summit was "both a restart and a new beginning."

However, economic integration between China, Japan and South Korea comes as the US calls for its allies to shift supply chains for key products, such as semiconductors, away from China.

South Korea's Yoon said the leaders agreed to build a transparent and predictable trade and supply chain environment but did not elaborate.

Japan and South Korea are Washington's top regional security partners in northeast Asia. 

Beijing views Japan and South Korea's efforts to enhance security partnerships with the US as an attempt to contain China.

"We need to have honest dialogues to better enhance trust and resolve doubts. We must uphold the spirit of strategic autonomy and maintain our bilateral relations," Li said.

Rising threat from North Korea

Hours before the meeting North Korea announced that it planned to put another spy satellite into orbit. The launch would use ballistic missile technology banned by United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The three leaders called for the "denuclearization of the Korean peninsula."

"The stability of the Korean Peninsula are in the common interest of our three nations," Japan's Kishida said. 

Yoon added that the issue was a "shared responsibility and interest" for the trio.

Li urged all parties to show restraint and prevent further escalation on the Korean Peninsula. 

China is North Korea's only military ally and its largest trade partner. Along with Russia, China has advocated for easing UN sanctions on North Korea.

lo/wmr (AFP, Reuters)