South Korea, China and Japan are expected to open their first group summit talks in three years at the end of next month, a diplomatic source said Tuesday.

"Given a possible timeframe for now, the trilateral summit will likely be held from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1," the source said, asking not to be named.

The three countries are in the final stage of their consultations on the schedule, agenda items and other relevant issues, added the source.

They plan to hold a meeting of deputy director general-level diplomats at the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat in Seoul later in the day.

It is to prepare for the planned three-way summit to be attended by President Park Geun-hye, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, according to South Korean officials.

"As we are to play host to the summit, we will give a briefing on preparatory work and exchange opinions with China and Japan," a Foreign Ministry official said. "But there would be no specific announcement today with regard to the summit schedule."

Also to be discussed are the results of tripartite cooperation projects, he said.

Earlier, President Park Geun-hye and her Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, agreed to hold the three-way summit "at a convenient time," including in late October or early November.

If held, it would mark the resumption of the annual group summit, which was launched in 2008 but came to a halt in 2012 amid historical and territorial spats among the regional powers.

It's South Korea's turn to host the session.

The venue has not been decided yet, with Seoul, the ancient capital city of Gyeongju, and the southern resort island of Jeju cited as candidates.

In 2000, South Korea hosted the summit on Jeju Island. (Yonhap)