To limited fanfare, South Korea, China and Japan kicked off the first round of negotiations on a trilateral free trade deal in Seoul on Tuesday. The three-day talks, devoted mainly to discussing details including the method and scope of the trade negotiations, opened a tough and complicated process that is expected to take more than two years to complete.

In November, the three Northeast Asian nations agreed to launch the trade talks, based on the outcome of a decade-long feasibility study. But the actual start of the negotiations was delayed due to tensions over territorial disputes and power transitions in China and South Korea.

The new government in Seoul appears to have taken the lead in initiating the three-way talks, which are seen to help ease the tight atmosphere surrounding the region, which faces nuclear threats from North Korea. The negotiations also come in the shadow of ambitious U.S. moves to create free trade areas with Asia-Pacific countries and EU members, respectively. Japan announced its decision earlier this month to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade negotiations.

Some observers paint a bleak picture of the prospects for the Northeast Asian economic powerhouses to strike out a tripartite free trade agreement, which they say is in large part politically motivated. It may be that China wants the accord as a counterweight to the U.S.-led TPP and Japan regards it as a means to check against a planned bilateral FTA between South Korea and China. From a technical viewpoint, it might be doubted whether the three sides could reach a comprehensive agreement on sensitive issues such as agricultural products and intellectual property rights.

But the benefits expected from the conclusion of the three-way accord are more than worth the hard work of negotiations, historical antagonism and territorial rows. The agreement would create one of the world’s three largest markets, accounting for 20.5 percent of the global gross domestic product, 17.5 percent of international trade and 22 percent of the world’s population. It could help the Northeast Asian countries compensate for the possible shrinkage of their exports to the U.S. and EU members. The trade volume among the three nations remains smaller than their commerce with the rest of the world, leaving much room for further expansion.

It can be hoped that their enhanced trade and economic ties would spill over into security and political areas, laying the cornerstone for peace and stability in East Asia as a whole. The new leaders from the three countries need to join forces to give further impetus to the process when they gather for their first summit in Seoul in May. Throughout the negotiations, South Korea can and should take a leading role, based on its experience of working out free trade accords with the U.S. and the EU.