Senior diplomats of South Korea and China held a videoconference Thursday to discuss the possibility of their countries and Japan holding an annual trilateral summit this year and ways to handle the aftermath of the new coronavirus, the foreign ministry said.

The Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) between Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Gunn and Vice Chinese Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui took place, as Seoul, this year's host of the three-way summit, moves to bolster diplomacy with Beijing and Tokyo.

Launched in 2008, the trilateral summit has occurred annually, except for years when tensions rose among the countries due to diplomatic or other issues. The last three-way summit took place in Chengdu, China's Sichuan Province, last December.

"Despite the difficulties stemming from COVID-19, the two sides agreed to have close communication and consultation over the holding of the trilateral summit within this year," the ministry said in a press release.

"They also agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation and to deepen and expand trilateral cooperation in various areas, including a response related to changes stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic," it added.

Kim and Luo also exchanged views on how to improve cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. (Yonhap)