UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday warmly welcomed the trilateral summit held between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye in Seoul.[Special coverage]
Resumed after a three-and-half-year suspension due to heightened regional tensions, the summit meant the restoration of the trilateral cooperation mechanism.
In a statement released by his spokesperson's office, Ban lauded the three leaders for resuming trilateral meetings, saying he "hopes that the resumption of the trilateral meeting format will reinforce the collaboration among the three countries, and foster strengthened cooperation in Northeast Asia."
"The United Nations encourages all parties to work closely together to promote mutual trust and cooperation for peace and prosperity in the region," said the statement.
The China-Japan-South Korea summit had taken place annually from 2008 to 2012 before it bogged down due to Japanese provocations on historical and territorial issues that angered both China and South Korea.
The sixth trilateral summit in Seoul was held thanks to the thawing of relations between Japan and the two neighbors. The next such summit is expected to be held next year in Japan.
