SEOUL - THE leaders of South Korea, China and Japan will hold a summit in the Japanese city of Fukuoka in December to discuss closer cooperation amid the global financial crisis, a news report said on Sunday.

Seoul's Yonhap news agency, citing an unnamed presidential official, said the three had reached a 'tentative agreement' on the schedule for the summit, expected to take place on December 14.

The official told Yonhap there would soon be a formal announcement on the agenda to be discussed by Korean President Lee Myung Bak, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

Presidential officials here were not immediately available for comment.

Japanese media reported last week Tokyo was eyeing holding the summit in Fukuoka on the southern island of Kyushu on December 6 or 7.

South Korea, China and Japan have met annually on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Plus Three summit.

But the three Asian neighbours have also tried to arrange a separate three-way summit, independent of any other multilateral international forums, to discuss regional and other issues on their own.

Regional cooperation in addressing the global financial meltdown and disarming nuclear North Korea will likely dominate the agenda, Yonhap said.

The three countries had originally intended to meet in the western Japanese city of Kobe in September, but the plan was scrapped after Mr Aso's predecessor Yasuo Fukuda abruptly resigned because of his low public approval rating. -- AFP