Three-nation leaders'meeting should be held at 'appropriate time'

China believes that a leaders' meeting between Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul should be held at the appropriate time and under approved conditions, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang made the remarks at a regular press briefing when asked to confirm a Japanese announcement made a few hours earlier on Tuesday, following the impeachment on Friday of South Korean President Park Geun-hye.

Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that the three nations had postponed the meeting scheduled to be held in Tokyo later this month until next year due to political turmoil in South Korea.

"Due to various circumstances, we will rearrange it and hold it in Japan at a suitable time next year," Kishida said.

The minister said the trilateral meeting is "very important," adding that "we hope to convene it as soon as possible".

Geng said China is in close communication with Japan on the meeting.

China believes that the leaders' meeting should be held at an appropriate time and under conditions that are approved by all the three countries, Geng said.

He said China attaches great importance to cooperation among the three nations and is willing to strengthen communication and coordination to maintain the warming atmosphere of trilateral cooperation and ensure its healthy, stable and sustainable development.

The three nations have taken turns to hold the annual trilateral leaders' meeting since 2008. It was stalled when Japan announced it would "nationalize" China's Diaoyu Islands in September 2012 and was restarted in Seoul in November 2015.