The leaders of Japan, China and South Korea on Sunday agreed to enhance cooperation on regional security and a trilateral free-trade agreement, but their unity was somewhat overshadowed by a delay in presenting gifts of crested ibises.
During the one-day meeting in Beijing, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak agreed to expand their cooperation in dealing with the rising tensions in Asia set off by North Korea's failed launch last month of a rocket using ballistic missile technology in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
On the economic front, the three leaders agreed to start negotiations by the end of the year on the three-way trade pact, after their trade ministers recommended doing so on Saturday.