Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has expressed his willingness to hold a bilateral summit with President Park Geun－hye on the sidelines of a possible three－way summit with China this fall.
During a House of Councilors meeting on Monday， Abe said he was considering holding separate meetings with his South Korean and Chinese counterparts if the planned trilateral summit is realized.
Pointing out that difficult issues exist with both countries， Abe said that was all the more reason the summits should be held without preconditions.
President Park Geun－hye and her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping recently agreed to hold a trilateral meeting with Japan in late October or early November.
On Tuesday， Seoul will host a closed－door working－level meeting among deputy directors of the three countries′ foreign ministries.
They are expected to work on setting up the leaders′ summit.
