Trade ministers from China, Japan and South Korea announced Tuesday the launch of the Free Trade Area (FTA) negotiations, a move that will strengthen economic ties of the three major economies, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said Tuesday.

The agreement was reached at a meeting of the economy and trade ministers from the three countries on the occasion of the 21st ASEAN Summit and Related Summits, which was held in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, according to a statement published by MOFCOM.

The launch of the FTA negotiations followed the leaders' Join Declaration at the Fifth Trilateral Summit Meeting in Beijing on May 13, the statement said.

The ministers further decided that the first round of the trilateral FTA negotiations would be held in early 2013, the Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday.