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After Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul announced plans on Sunday to start talking about a trilateral free trade agreement this year, a joint declaration released on Monday said the three countries also have set their sights on reaching a trade pact that will apply to all of East Asia.

The proposed trilateral agreement, if brought into existence, will provide a path leading to a broader East Asian agreement, a high-level diplomat and Chinese experts have said.

Premier Wen Jiabao, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and President of the Republic of Korea Lee Myung-bak signed a "milestone" trilateral investment agreement on Sunday during an annual meeting. The pact came as the result of years of negotiations and paved the way for trilateral talks on a free trade agreement.

They also announced that talks on a proposed trilateral agreement, which would exercise influence on a fifth of world trade, are to begin this year.

The joint declaration said the three countries should immediately prepare for the talks.

Moreover, it said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, Plus Working Groups need to be established "without delay" to speed up discussions about establishing a comprehensive regional economic partnership that will take into account "the initiatives of the East Asia Free Trade Area and Comprehensive Economic Partnership for East Asia".

The three nations have long said they are willing to reach a trade pact with ASEAN

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