Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi and Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan agreed Tuesday to convene a high-level meeting in August on cooperation between consulates general in the two countries, a Japanese official said.

Kawaguchi and Tang also agreed that the two nations should work out an itinerary for her visit to China. Tang extended the invitation and Kawaguchi said she hopes to visit in early September.

The agreement to discuss consulate cooperation comes after an incident in May in which five North Korean asylum seekers were removed from the Japanese Consulate General in Shenyang, northeastern China, by Chinese police.

Such cooperation is expected to include establishment of bilateral emergency contact routes between the consulates general and the host countries and strengthening of communications between consulate personnel and local police, the official said.