S Korea, China, Japan agree to reduce arms

Announcing their first-ever joint statement, the three Asian leaders also agreed to strengthen ties to resolve the one-year-old standoff surrounding North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met on the sidelines of the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

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"The three countries will reinforce their security dialogue and promote the exchange of military personnel," said the statement that outlines trilateral cooperation in 14 sectors, including defense, trade and investment, and culture.

To this end, they agreed to "take political, diplomatic and administrative measures to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems."

In addition, the three countries pledged to enhance their cooperation in such transnational crimes as terrorism, maritime piracy, human trafficking and drug smuggling.

On the North's nuclear issue, the leaders reaffirmed their countries' position that the Korean Peninsula should be free of nuclear weapons.

They also evaluated the progress made in their countries' joint study of concluding a free trade agreement, but failed to reach any substantial agreement.

To effectively implement the agreements, the three nations agreed to hold a summit on a continual basis and set up a trilateral committee to monitor, adjust and supervise cooperative programmes.

Before the trilateral summit, Roh and Wen held bilateral talks, during which Seoul officials said the Korean president asked for China' continued support to hold the delayed six-nation talks as soon as possible in a bid to peacefully end the North's nuclear threats.

The two leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to further promote economic cooperation between South Korea and the world's fastest growing market as agreed during Roh's visit to Beijing in July.