Beijing - The foreign ministers of China, Japan and South Korea held talks on Monday that were expected to focus on international efforts to persuade North Korea to end its nuclear weapons programme. China's foreign ministry gave no immediate details of discussions on North Korea but it said the three foreign ministers had agreed to "deepen their future-oriented and all-round cooperative partnership."
The ministers also held bilateral meetings, including the first official talks between Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and his new Japanese counterpart Katsuya Okada.
The foreign ministry said earlier that the trilateral talks were expected to cover "major regional and international issues" and pave the way for a summit of the leaders of China, Japan and South Korea on October 10 in Beijing.
State media quoted President Hu Jintao as telling his South Korean counterpart Lee Myung-bak on the sidelines of UN meetings in New York last week that China wanted to "strengthen communication and coordination" with Japan and South Korea to "give impetus for new achievements in the upcoming summit" of the three leaders.
Lee discussed North Korea's nuclear programme with both Hu and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, South Korean media reported.
Lee's meetings followed his proposal of a "grand bargain" of multiple incentives for North Korea if it agrees to complete denuclearization in a single step, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is scheduled to visit North Korea next week, the Chinese foreign ministry announced on Monday.
Earlier this month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il told a Chinese envoy that his nation was committed to denuclearization and to "peace and stability" on the Korean peninsula.
Chinese state media quoted Kim as saying North Korea was "willing to solve problems through bilateral or multilateral talks."
Kim's comments apparently signalled a commitment to negotiate the end of North Korea's nuclear weapons programme through the long-standing six-nation talks, which also involve the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia.
The leaders of China, Japan and South Korea held their first three-way summit in Japan in December.
