South Korea, China, Japan discuss counter-militants, cybersecurity

Senior diplomats from South Korea, China and Japan held three-way talks here Friday to discuss ways to enhance cooperation in counter-terrorism, cybersecurity and extremism, Yonhap reported.

Choi Sung-joo, South Korea's ambassador for international security affairs, and his Chinese and Japanese counterparts, Liu Guangyuan and Tsukasa Kawada, led the one-day talks.

The trilateral consultation on counter-terrorism was last held in July 2012 and Friday's talks are the latest sign of easing tensions among the three nations.

The foreign ministers from South Korea, China and Japan held three-way talks in Seoul in March, marking the first such meeting in about three years. During the March meeting, they agreed to resume the trilateral consultation on counter-terrorism.

China's foreign ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, told reporters that the Friday talks "will give a further boost to the political dialogue and practical cooperation among the three countries."

"It will also be conducive to the security and stability of the three countries," Hua said.