Seoul, Washington, Tokyo seeking to hold vice minister meeting

South Korea, the United States and Japan are said to be seeking to hold a three-way vice-ministerial meeting as early as next week.
A Seoul official said Wednesday that if the meeting is held, South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yong is expected to head the South Korean delegation. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki would also represent their respective countries.
During the meeting, the three sides would likely discuss how the international community will respond to North Korea’s nuclear threats following a successful deal with Iran. New defense cooperation guidelines between Washington and Tokyo would also likely be high on the agenda, according to Korea's (KBS WORLD) website.
The meeting is seen as a potential bridge between Seoul and Tokyo at a time when diplomatic disputes between the two countries are escalating.
Japan has recently drawn fire for repeating its territorial claims to South Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo in school textbooks and diplomatic papers.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is scheduled to travel to the U.S. later this month and make a speech before both houses of the U.S. Congress.