The leaders, who met Saturday for three-way talks, called for the quick resumption of the long-stalled negotiations aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear drive, while also pledging to deepen regional cooperation.

The summit brought together Japan's new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak and host Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao -- who last week went to Pyongyang to discuss the issue with North Korea's Kim Jong-Il.

"The three regional powers having a strong common stance will have put pressure on Pyongyang," Joseph Cheng, a professor of political science at the City University of Hong Kong, told AFP.

He added that if all the five nations in the six-party talks -- North Korea being the sixth -- show the same unified front, "then Pyongyang will realise that it's difficult to divide and rule, and therefore it has to come back to the negotiating table."

The six-way negotiations are hosted by China, a close ally of North Korea, and also include the two Koreas, the United States, Russia and Japan.

North Korea said Monday during Wen's trip to Pyongyang that it was willing to return to the six-party disarmament talks it quit in April, but only if it first was granted direct negotiations with the United States.

Washington has said it would agree to bilateral talks within the framework of the six-party forum, but that the goal must be a complete end to Pyongyang's nuclear weapons drive.

On Saturday, the three leaders said they would push "with other parties for an early resumption of the six-party talks, so as to safeguard the peace and stability in Northeast Asia," in a statement issued after the summit.

Wen said the door was open to make real progress, urging nations to "seize the opportunity and make the most of it."

Takehiko Yamamoto, a professor of international politics at Waseda University in Tokyo, said "the way is now paved" for Pyongyang to return to the negotiating table, thanks in large part to the Chinese premier.

"Wen's diplomatic achievement is highly significant," Yamamoto told AFP.

"There is no obstacle now that would hinder the US-North Korea talks to resume," he said.

"If the United States assures the North of the continued existence of its political system and its national security, I think it is possible to denuclearise the peninsula."

Pyongyang has consistently said that it needs nuclear arms in the face of what it says is a nuclear threat from the US.

At the summit, Lee said the three leaders had also agreed to cooperate on his "grand bargain" for North Korea -- massive aid and diplomatic and security guarantees in return for a firm commitment to total denuclearisation.

"This is unprecedented momentum for regional cooperation by Japan, China and South Korea," said Hitoshi Tanaka, a senior fellow at the Japan Centre for International Exchange in Tokyo.

"This is the first opportunity for the countries to agree on jointly cooperating not only for North Korea but also for general issues in East Asia," Tanaka, a former high-level diplomat, told AFP.

The three leaders committed to expand their cooperation "in the spirit of facing history squarely and advancing towards the future" -- a nod to their past disputes over Japan's wartime aggression.

earlier related report
China, Japan, SKorea urge new NKorea nuclear talks
The leaders of China, Japan and South Korea on Saturday called for the quick resumption of talks on ending North Korea's nuclear drive, with Beijing saying the door was open to making real progress.

The leaders, who pledged to deepen regional cooperation, said they would work together to ensure the success of global climate talks in Copenhagen later this year.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, new Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak also said they "remained committed" to the development of an East Asia community as a "long-term goal".

But finding a way to bring North Korea back to stalled six-party disarmament talks was clearly the focus of the summit, and Wen -- who visited Pyongyang just a week ago -- said the international community needed to seize the moment.

"We are faced with an opportunity, but this opportunity may slip by. The key is what we do. We need to seize the opportunity and make the most of it," Wen told a joint press conference.

"On the issue of the six-party talks, the DPRK side showed flexibility," he added, noting that Pyongyang "not only hopes to improve its relations with the United States, but also to improve relations with Japan and South Korea."

North Korea said Monday during Wen's visit to Pyongyang -- the first by a Chinese premier in 18 years -- that it was willing to return to six-party talks but only if it first was granted direct negotiations with the United States.

Washington has said it would agree to bilateral talks within the framework of the six-party disarmament forum, but that the goal must be a complete end to Pyongyang's nuclear weapons drive.

The six-way negotiations are hosted by China, a close ally of North Korea, and also include South Korea, the United States, Russia and Japan.

Wen, Hatoyama and Lee said they would push "with other parties for an early resumption of the six-party talks, so as to safeguard peace and stability in Northeast Asia," according to a statement issued after their talks.

Both Lee and Hatoyama said they were encouraged by Wen's descriptions of Pyongyang's attitude.

"Premier Wen said North Korea was willing to have talks with South Korea. I welcome this," Lee told reporters.

Hatoyama added: "I would like to trust these words."

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported on Friday that a key North Korean diplomat was likely to visit the United States later this month, which could provide a rare opportunity for face-to-face talks between the two sides.

Lee said he had presented what he describes as a "grand bargain" for North Korea's nuclear disarmament -- massive aid and diplomatic and security guarantees in return for a firm commitment to total denuclearisation.

The three leaders also committed Saturday to expand their cooperation "in the spirit of facing history squarely and advancing towards the future".

Hatoyama, who took office last month, is looking to erase the distrust and frequent animosity that marked Tokyo's relations with its neighbours under the previous Liberal Democrat leadership.

Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo said Friday that relations between Beijing and Tokyo were off to a "good start" under Hatoyama, state media reported.

As further proof of that, Chinese President Hu Jintao held a brief meeting with Hatoyama and Lee late in the day, Japanese officials said.

On climate change, the three nations vowed to "work closely together... to contribute to the successful achievement of the Copenhagen conference" -- while maintaining that countries bore "common but differentiated responsibilities".

More than 190 countries will converge in the Danish capital to try to hammer out a treaty to tackle global warming that will succeed the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

Rich nations have pushed emerging giants such as China and India, which had no obligations under Kyoto, to commit to binding action on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but those developing nations have repeatedly baulked.

"I told him that I really want China to make an international commitment," Hatoyama told reporters late Saturday after a bilateral meeting with Wen.

Wen, Hatoyama and Lee -- whose countries accounted for 16 percent of global GDP last year and have increasingly intertwined economies -- also said they would boost business and trade ties.

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