A day to remember,... and the first time for a South Korean President to visit Japan in over half a decade.
During his brief stay in Tokyo on Wednesday, President Moon Jae-in met with his counterpart in the host country and the Chinese premier,... and got a lot done during his sit-downs with the leaders.
Our Blue House correspondent Hwang Hojun reports. Diplomacy was the name of the game.
Resuming the three-way talks for the first time since 2015,... South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said they throughly discussed how their countries can work together to deal with the North Korea issue while seeking the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of lasting peace in the region.
They welcomed the outcome of the recent inter-Korean summit and even adopted a special statement welcoming the Panmunjom Declaration.
In the statement, which was issued late Wednesday night,... they also expressed their hopes that such result will lead to the success of the upcoming Pyongyang-Washington summit… and pledged joint efforts for peace and stability in Northeast Asia.
During the joint press conference, however, the focal point of each leader reflected a slightly different approach.
President Moon voiced the importance of holding the trilateral summit on a regular basis.
"I wish and I also promise that the three countries will continue their close communication and cooperation on the process of establishing lasting peace in the region."
The Japanese prime minister stressed that the international sanctions on North Korea need to be adhered to... to get the regime to take concrete action… such as resolving the decades-long issue of its abductions of Japanese citizens.
"It is the three countries' common stance to completely fulfill the UN Security Council's resolutions on North Korea issues."
China wanted to make sure that it would still be able to exert influence on North Korea-related affairs.
"China hopes for the restoration of dialogue and for a political resolution of the Korean Peninsula issue by making the most of this opportunity. To this end, China will continue to play a constructive role."
Economic cooperation between the three countries was also a key part of the three-way meeting.
The leaders noted that their combined GDP accounts for around 20 percent of the global economy,... and agreed that together they can accomplish anything.
They also attended a business summit, encouraging business leaders from all three countries to do more together.
President Moon stressed the need to jointly tackle trade protectionism.
And he called for joint efforts to conclude negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP,... a regional free-trade pact involving South Korea, Japan and China as well as ASEAN nations.
Moon, Abe, and Li also pledged support for the upcoming Summer and Winter Olympics, hosted by Tokyo and Beijin