(VOVworld) - Senior diplomats from South Korea, China and Japan held a meeting in Tokyo on Sunday to prepare for a foreign ministers' gathering that can help the countries tackle outstanding issues.

Kim Hyoung-zhin, deputy foreign minister of South Korea, met with Liu Zhenmin and Takeo Akiba, his Chinese and Japanese counterparts, according to Seoul's foreign ministry. The high-ranking meeting is the 11th of its kind since it was first convened in March 2007 as a major channel to exchange views between the three neighboring Northeast Asian countries. The meeting is aimed at making preparations for a gathering of the three countries' foreign ministers that Tokyo wants to hold on Wednesday. A trilateral meeting of top diplomats could allow policymakers to set the tone for a summit of their leaders that would take place at the Group of 20 meeting to be held in China next month.