South Korea, Japan and China will hold their first high-level talks on arctic affairs in Seoul this week, the Foreign Ministry said Monday, in a move to open a new frontier of cooperation among the three neighbors long mired in territorial and historical feuds.

The first arctic cooperation dialogue will be held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building on Thursday, led by South Korean Arctic Affairs Ambassador Kim Chan-woo and his Japanese and Chinese counterparts Kazuko Shiraishi and Ma Xinmin.

During a trilateral summit in Seoul in November, the leaders of the three nations agreed to hold the talks on arctic affairs and reflected the agreement in their joint declaration for cooperation for peace in Northeast Asia.

At Thursday's gathering, the three countries will evaluate their respective arctic-related policies and activities and exchange views on the future direction of their trilateral cooperation on arctic affairs, Seoul officials said.

"Through the talks this time, we hope that South Korea, Japan and China will establish a framework to push for arctic cooperation on a trilateral basis," the ministry said in a press release. "The three countries are also expected to express their wills to contribute to the international community through their cooperation in scientific research on arctic issues."

South Korea, Japan and China joined the Arctic Council as an observer in May 2013 while competition was heating up to tap into the emerging opportunities in the region such as the development of resources. (Yonhap)