Face history but look forward, says new ROK spokesman

A joint priority for China, South Korea and Japan is to face up to history and focus on the future, the South Korean Foreign Ministry's newly installed spokesman told China Daily.

Jo Jun-hyuk made the remarks during a dinner in Seoul with a visiting Chinese media delegation led by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The visit came hot on the heels of a leaders' meeting of the three East Asian neighbors.

"It was the first meeting of its kind in three-and-a-half years. So it's a very precious opportunity," Jo said.

The summit had been held annually between 2008 and 2012 before being suspended due to actions by Japan over historical and territorial issues that angered China and South Korea.

"I believe the greatest significance of the meeting is that it enables us to seek a mechanism to foster dialogue and cooperation in Northeast Asia," he said.

President of the People's Republic of Korea Park Geun-hye said at a joint news conference with Premier Li Keqiang and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe following the summit that cooperation between the three countries has been "completely restored".

Li said: "We agreed to ... face history squarely, advance toward the future and take measures to properly handle historic and sensitive issues."

"I believe that it is especially important for us to look to the history and concentrate all our strength on development in the future," Jo said.

The veteran diplomat said Beijing's ties with Seoul has been "in the best situation" throughout history.

He said he was very surprised that a lot of news occurring in South Korea is covered in China.

"Many Chinese people are interested in news about South Korea and many reports are of good emotions, I can feel that," he said.