Senior diplomats from the United States, South Korea and Japan held talks in Washington on Monday about increasing cooperation in issues related to the Middle East and North Africa, the State Department said.

The trilateral dialogue "provided an important opportunity for the three governments to exchange views and coordinate policy, as well as to explore opportunities to deepen cooperation in the region," the department said in a statement without providing further specifics.

Representing the three countries were U.S. Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Anne Patterson, South Korean Director-General for African and Middle Eastern Affairs Kwon Hee-seog, and Japanese Director-General for Middle Eastern and African Affairs Tsukasa Uemura, it said. (Yonhap)