The leaders of South Korea, China, and Japan attended a trilateral leadership summit for the first time in more than three years in Seoul Sunday Nov. 1. The leaders largely focused on shared security and trade concerns, putting aside their historical animosities and territorial disputes.

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This meeting in Seoul symbolizes intent of the three largest economies in Northeast Asia to reap significant diplomatic and economic gains from closer cooperation.

China is keen to increase trade links as well as to put some fresh momentum in its slowing economy.

One of the priorities in the agenda of the trilateral summit was North Korea's nuclear weapons, which poses a threat to all three countries especially to China - the main diplomatic protector and economic benefactor of North Korea.

After an extended diplomatic freeze, a one-on-one summit, the first between South Korean President Park Geun-Hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was a triumph of realpolitik.

Japan's souring relations with its neighbors triggered a lengthy hiatus in the annual trilateral summit after the 2012 meeting. Sensitive historical disputes continue to linger over Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule over the Korean peninsula. One of which is the issue of Korean comfort women, who were forcibly recruited to work in Japanese wartime military brothels. Bitter memories of Japanese wartime aggression and conflicting territorial claims with Tokyo over an island chain in the East China Sea is similar to the issues responsible for the former's disute with China. Park said repeatedly until declined to meet Abe and Japan insisting that had to properly apologize for its past actions. Abe stated in the 70^th anniversary of the end of World War II that he is not making his own apology but promised to uphold the deep remorse of his predecessors over Japan's aggression.

Premier Li Keqiang represented China in Sunday's gathering rather than President Xi Jinping. He focused on economic cooperation and not the sensitive issues that persistently divided the two countries for many decades.

Any progress in efforts to seal a trilateral free-trade agreement is being watched over closely by many experts and businesses.

Park and Li agreed during their one-on-one meeting on Saturday Oct. 31 on the ratification of a bilateral free trade deal. However, the South Korean parliament is yet to approve the agreement. 

TagsSummit, China-Japan-South Korea Trilateral Summit