Korea, China and Japan will hold a meeting this week for a three-way accord aimed at promoting corporate direct investment, Seoul’s Trade Ministry said Monday.

The gathering will be held in Tokyo from Tuesday to Thursday, the ministry said.

The three nations have been negotiating the trilateral investment treaty since 2007 and the upcoming round of talks may be the last one to finalize the terms of the accord, officials said.

The pact may be signed by the leaders of the three nations in May when they hold a trilateral summit in Beijing, they said.

Korea, China and Japan already have bilateral investment pacts with one another.

The accord, if signed, will likely serve as a precursor to a three-way free trade agreement among the three neighboring nations.

Since last May, the three nations have held preliminary talks on the feasibility of a free trade deal with the aim of concluding the talks by the end of this year. (Yonhap News)