An official at the presidential office has confirmed that the government is coordinating a trilateral summit with Japan and China for next month in Seoul. 

The official told KBS that although the date has not been set, consultation is underway to arrange a trilateral summit in May. 

An official at the foreign ministry also said on Friday that the three nations are discussing the date for the summit in Seoul, adding that relevant parties had agreed that the summit would be held at the earliest available time.

On Thursday, Japan’s Kyodo News cited diplomatic sources as saying that South Korea, the current rotating chair of the trilateral dialogue, is in discussions with other nations to arrange the summit next month and that the summit will likely discuss economic cooperation and personnel exchanges. 

The three nations had been hosting trilateral summits on a rotating basis since 2008 but none have been held since December 2019 due to strained ties among the countries and the COVID-19 pandemic.