South Korea and Japan will hold talks with one another and the United States next week, Seoul said on Friday, in a breakthrough after Washington urged the pair to mend badly strained ties.

The meeting in The Hague, on the sidelines of an international nuclear conference, will mark the first formal talks between President Park Geun-hye and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe since they took office more than a year ago, Yonhap news agency said.

Min Kyung-wook, presidential Blue House spokeswoman for Park, confirmed that a meeting was in the works.

Although not a one-on-one encounter, the talks are a significant step forward after Park had repeatedly ruled out a summit with Abe until Tokyo demonstrates sincere repentance for "past wrongdoings".

Relations between Seoul and Tokyo are at their lowest ebb in years, mired in emotional issues linked to Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule, its wartime use of women in military brothels and a territorial dispute involving nearby islands.

'Smoothing feathers'

Prospects for a meeting between Park and Abe arose earlier this month after the Japanese leader promised to honor Tokyo's two previous apologies for past acts, issued in 1993 and 1995.

Park has welcomed Abe's pledge, saying she hopes it will pave the way for better bilateral ties.

South Korea has accused Japan of showing insufficient remorse for wartime abuses - particularly the use of sex slaves, known as "comfort women".

Japanese politicians have expressed exasperation at the repeated requests for contrition, pointing to numerous apologies as well as to a 1965 agreement that normalized relations and included a large payment to Seoul.

The situation was exacerbated by Abe's visit to a controversial war shrine in December that drew strong protests from Seoul and Beijing.

The rift has been viewed with growing alarm in Washington. South Korea and Japan are the two major US military allies in Asia, and key to the US strategic "pivot" to the region.

US Secretary of State John Kerry called for the two Asian nations to mend their relationship during his visit to Seoul in February, urging them to "put history behind and move relations forward".

Earlier this month, US assistant secretary of state for East Asia Danny Russel also said Seoul and Tokyo should find a way past the current diplomatic impasse, calling for "prudence and restraint" from both parties.

"The meeting would add momentum for the two countries to seek ways to smooth their ruffled feathers", said Professor Cho Sei-young of Dongseo University.

"However, it is too early to say whether it would lead to a bilateral summit between Park and Abe."

Professor Jo Yang-hyeon at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy said Seoul remained firm in its long-standing position that Japan should address the issue of wartime sex slavery, and stop attempts to gloss over its wartime atrocities and justify its militaristic past.

"The tripartite meeting does not mean Seoul has eased its stance. This will not automatically lead to a bilateral summit with Japan," Jo said.

(China Daily 03/22/2014 page7)