Japan, China, South Korea summit postponed on Park woes

Tokyo: Japan is postponing a summit with China and South Korea, the government said Tuesday, after the impeachment of South Korean President President Park Geun-Hye.

The Asian powers were planning to hold an annual trilateral gathering this month in Japan, which is the rotating chair.
South Korea`s parliament voted Friday to impeach Park, who is engulfed in a scandal over her friendship with a long-time confidante who has been charged with meddling in state affairs.

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, while not directly mentioning Park`s impeachment, said "various factors" were behind the decision.

"We decided to re-arrange it and hold the summit at an appropriate time next year," he told reporters after a regular cabinet meeting.

Park has been relieved of official duties as president and is awaiting a decision by the country`s Constitutional Court -- a process that could take months -- on whether she will have to permanently step down.

She has been replaced in the interim by Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-Ahn.

Leaders of the three countries met in November last year in South Korea for the first time since 2012.

Summits had been on ice due largely to Tokyo`s often thorny relations with Beijing and Seoul over territorial issues and history.