Tokyo, Sep 3 (IANS): Japanese officials on Thursday welcomed the agreement between the leaders of China and South Korea to hold a three-nation summit that includes Tokyo.

The Japanese leaders will start working with their counterparts in Beijing and Seoul to set a schedule for the proposed summit, NHK news agency reported.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Park Geun-hye met in Beijing on Wednesday where they agreed to hold a summit with Japan in late October or early November in South Korea.

Japanese foreign ministry officials said their South Korean counterparts notified them of the contents of the agreement.

Leaders of the three countries had met every year since 2008. But those meetings have not been held for over three years.

Japanese officials hope to hold the first ever talks between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye on the sidelines of the trilateral summit.