TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The top diplomats of Japan, China and South Korea agreed on Saturday to promote "future-oriented" cooperation during their meeting in Tokyo amid growing global uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump's trade and security policies.

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said after the trilateral talks that he and his Chinese and South Korean counterparts, Wang Yi and Cho Tae Yul, also decided to accelerate preparations to hold a summit "at the earliest convenient time," which would follow one held last year.

"It is extremely important for the three countries...to promote future-oriented exchanges and cooperation, and guide the region and the international community from division to cooperation," Iwaya said at a joint press announcement.

The latest meeting underscored improving ties between Japan and both China and South Korea despite lingering tensions over wartime history and territorial disputes. But their agreement lacked specifics.

The focus of cooperation will be on measures to "know each other better," "protect livelihoods," and address challenges "common to all generations," the Japanese government said, with Iwaya citing issues such as low birthrates and aging populations.

At the outset of the meeting, Wang expressed his readiness to build three-way collaborative relations, saying China will "constantly unearth the potential for cooperation."

But he also fired a warning shot at Japan on historical issues, saying this year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of what China refers to as the 1937-1945 War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.

"The future can only be created after sincerely reflecting on history," the Chinese foreign minister said.

On Russia's war against Ukraine, Iwaya reiterated Japan's position that "unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force should not be tolerated anywhere in the world" and expressed concern about North Korea's military cooperation with Russia.

He also said North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile development are a source of concern and called for cooperation to resolve the issue of Pyongyang's abductions of Japanese nationals decades ago.

Cho told reporters the three nations should work toward the "complete denuclearization" of North Korea. Wang expressed hope for a "political solution" to the Korean Peninsula issue to achieve long-term stability in Northeast Asia.

The countries last held a trilateral foreign ministerial meeting in the South Korean port city of Busan in November 2023 and a summit in Seoul in May 2024.

Later in the day, Iwaya said the next summit needs to be held "by the end of this year," vowing to "speed up" coordination.

Each country faces its own challenges, with China grappling with a prolonged property sector crisis and South Korea in political turmoil as President Yoon Suk Yeol awaits an impeachment verdict over his brief imposition of martial law in December.

Trump's second term, which began in January, has added a new twist to bilateral and trilateral cooperation among the three Asian nations, amid the specter of an intensifying trade war between Beijing and Washington and potential repercussions from the U.S. president's skepticism of long-standing alliances.

Wang emphasized to reporters the importance of "multilateralism and free trade toward an inclusive development of economic globalization," likely with Trump's aggressive tariff policy, which has already targeted China, in mind.

The ministers also pledged to work together to ensure the success of talks under the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, which South Korea will chair this year, according to the Japanese government.

At the previous three-way summit, then Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and President Yoon agreed to cooperate in six areas, including people-to-people exchanges, climate change response, economic cooperation and trade, aging society and disaster relief.

Before then, the countries had not held a trilateral summit since December 2019, mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic and disputes between Japan and South Korea stemming from Japan's 1910-1945 colonization of the Korean Peninsula and its wartime actions.

However, Tokyo and Seoul have made dramatic progress in mending ties in recent years, agreeing to move past the dispute over wartime conscripted labor. The improvement also led to enhanced cooperation with the United States under Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden.

Later Saturday, Iwaya and Cho held bilateral talks, sharing "serious concerns" over issues related to North Korea, including its "malicious cyber activities," such as cryptocurrency theft, an alleged funding source for its nuclear and missile programs, the Japanese government said.

(By Keita Nakamura)