Anchor: Leaders from South Korea, Japan and China will be holding talks in Seoul from Sunday to Monday. It will be the first time in four years and five months that leaders of the three countries will hold a three-way summit. Announcing the diplomatic schedule, Seoul officials hinted that the meeting could pave the way to restoring ties with Beijing. 
Our Kim Bum-soo has more. 

Report: The leaders of South Korea, Japan and China are gathering in Seoul for two days, starting from Sunday. 

First Deputy Director of National Security Kim Tae-hyo announced on Thursday the first three-way summit between the East Asian neighbors in almost four and a half years. 

[Sound bite: 1st Deputy Director of National Security Kim Tae-hyo (Korean-English)]
"... on the morning of May 27, the ninth South Korea-Japan-China summit will take place at the Presidential Office of Cheongwadae... "
"The upcoming summit will be a turning point for the three countries of South Korea, Japan and China to fully restore and normalize their cooperative system. The summit will pave the way to secure a momentum for future-oriented and practical cooperation, which the people of the three countries can recognize the actual benefits of." 

Before the trilateral summit on Monday, President Yoon Suk Yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang will coordinate their stances in bilateral talks.

The three-way talks on Monday are expected to produce a joint declaration, outlining the three sides' cooperation, according to Kim. 

The previous three-way talks took place in Chengdu, China during the Moon Jae-in administration in December 2019. 

Monday's summit is taking place amid widening differences with China following the launch of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration in 2022, which led to tighter relations among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan against China. 

While noting that the three-way talks will normalize ties with China, the deputy national security adviser told reporters that Seoul proposed collaboration in people-to-people exchanges, climate change, trade, aging society, digital transition and natural disaster responses. 

In addition to the six less contentious topics, the three sides will also discuss international issues as members of the UN Security Council, according to Seoul's top office. 
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.