South Korean officials say its National Security Council has agreed to a proposal by Washington that President Park Geun-hye hold three-way talks with U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of an international nuclear conference in The Hague next week.
A presidential spokesman in Seoul told reporters Friday that the Foreign Ministry will make a formal announcement on the meeting later in the day.
President Park has repeatedly refused offers to hold a bilateral summit with Mr. Abe, citing Japan's refusal to apologize again for crimes committed during its colonization of South Korea from 1910 to 1945, and Japan's used of Korean women as sex slave and during World War Two.
Tokyo is pointing to numerous apologies the Japanese government has already made, and a 1965 agreement that normalized relations and included a large payment to Seoul.
South Korea, along with China, protested Mr. Abe's December visit to a controversial war shrine, creating a deepening rift between the countries. However, Mr. Abe recently promised to honor Tokyo's previous apologies over its colonial past.
The meeting in the Netherlands is expected to focus on security issues created by North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.
A presidential spokesman in Seoul told reporters Friday that the Foreign Ministry will make a formal announcement on the meeting later in the day.
President Park has repeatedly refused offers to hold a bilateral summit with Mr. Abe, citing Japan's refusal to apologize again for crimes committed during its colonization of South Korea from 1910 to 1945, and Japan's used of Korean women as sex slave and during World War Two.
Tokyo is pointing to numerous apologies the Japanese government has already made, and a 1965 agreement that normalized relations and included a large payment to Seoul.
South Korea, along with China, protested Mr. Abe's December visit to a controversial war shrine, creating a deepening rift between the countries. However, Mr. Abe recently promised to honor Tokyo's previous apologies over its colonial past.
The meeting in the Netherlands is expected to focus on security issues created by North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.