The foreign ministers of Japan, China and South Korea plan to meet with South Korean President Park Geun-hye on the sidelines of a trilateral session March 21-22 in Seoul, a source said Thursday.
If Park meets Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, it will be the first meeting in Seoul between the South Korean president and a Japanese Cabinet member since she held talks with Taro Aso, deputy prime minister and finance minister, at her inauguration ceremony in February 2013.
Park and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have yet to hold a formal one-on-one summit since the two leaders took office, Abe in 2012 and Park in 2013, due to a territorial dispute and differing perceptions of the history of Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
If Park meets Kishida, it is unlikely they will discuss outstanding issues between the two countries, according to the source.
Kishida, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se plan to visit the presidential office for a meeting with Park on March 22, the source said.
Kishida plans to hold bilateral talks with Wang and Yun the same day after their trilateral meeting the previous day.
As Japan and South Korea seek to convene a trilateral summit with China after the foreign ministerial session, Kishida may seek agreement to hold bilateral talks between Abe and Park.