South Korean, Chinese and Japanese leaders discuss thorny topics and ways to boost cooperation

By HYUNG-JIN KIM
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The Japanese and South Korean leaders have raised sensitive topics like Taiwan, North Korea and the South China Sea as well as ways to boost cooperation, when they individually met China’s premier. It was unclear how serious discussions the three leaders had on those thorny issues during bilateral meetings in Seoul on Sunday ahead of their trilateral gathering the next day, the first of its kind in more than four years. No major announcement is expected from Monday’s meeting, but observers say that just resuming the highest-level talks among the three Northeast Asian neighbors is a good sign.