Researchers from three Northeast Asian neighbors Wednesday agreed to jointly research volcanic activity on the Korean Peninsula's highest peak and other geological issues.
  

Three state-funded institutes -- the Korean Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, the China Geological Survey and the Japan Geological Survey -- signed the agreement in Beijing earlier in the day when they held their first joint meeting.
  

Although the agreement did not specify Mt. Baekdu by name as an area of cooperation, it opened the door for the three institutes to conduct a joint study of the Chinese side of the mountain, the highest on the Korean Peninsula, said Kim Dae-in, a spokesman at KIGAM.
  

The 2,740-meter mountain that sits on the North Korea-China border last erupted in 1903 and has been dormant since then, but experts say there are potential signs of eruption, citing topographical surveys and satellite images.
  

South Korea and China have been conducting a bilateral joint study of the Chinese side of the mountain since last year.
  

Kim Kyu-han, president of KIGAM, said the bilateral study between South Korea and China will receive a significant boost if Japan joins.
  

"I hope that this project can grow into China-Japan-Korea's co-project," Kim said at the meeting.
  

"The reason that I brought this up is because islands of Japan were first formed by volcanic eruption that was brought on by a collision of two geological plates. The origin of Mt. Baekdu is very similar to this mechanism," Kim said.
  

"It means that there will be a lot to learn from Japan," Kim said. "With China, Japan and Korea making concerted efforts through joint projects, it is expected that we will be better prepared for volcanic eruptions of Mt. Baekdu."
  

The agreement signed by the institutes calls for them to host a three-way meeting every two years.
  

Areas of joint geological research include "mineral resources assessment and exploration, groundwater and geo-thermal resources, geo-hazard mitigation and climate change."
  

Trilateral relations among South Korea, China and Japan have been shaky due to shared history and Tokyo's unrepentant attitude towards the atrocities it committed during World War II.
  

Eikichi Tsukuda, general director of the Japan Geological Survey, described Wednesday's meeting as an "epoch-making milestone for all of us to work together in the field of science."
  

"Geology has no borders," Tsukuda said. "It is quite natural that geologists in neighboring countries should seek to collaborate with each other in pursuing understanding of geological structure or geological phenomenon in their regions and across borders, to search for scientific truth and reveal the history of the earth." (Yonhap)