Korea-ASEAN, Mekong summits set for November in Busan

Summit conferences among South Korea, ASEAN members and countries along the Mekong will be held in Busan in November, Cheong Wa Dae announced Monday.

The presidential office also said the suggestion of inviting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to the event has been reviewed, and that Seoul is discussing the matter with ASEAN nations. 

According to Seoul’s presidential office, the South Korea-ASEAN summit conference will be held on Nov. 25 and 26, followed immediately by a one-day summit conference with countries along the Mekong. The South Korea-Mekong summit involves Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

The two conferences were first proposed by President Moon Jae-in in Singapore in November while he was attending the ASEAN summit meetings.

“The event will be the largest international conference held in Korea during the Moon Jae-in administration,” Yoon Do-han, senior public relations secretary, said regarding the ASEAN summit.

According to Cheong Wa Dae, the event will be attended by the leaders of all ASEAN states, officials from the governments and corporate communities of the countries, totaling about 10,000.

The upcoming event will be the third South Korea-ASEAN summit conference held in the country. The first was held in 2009 in Jeju, and the second in 2014 in Busan.

“The event is expected to be an opportunity to assess the 30 years of Korea-ASEAN relations, and for proposing the vision for the next 30 years,” Yoon said, adding that the summit will also boost Seoul’s New Southern Policy.

The New Southern Policy is one of the Moon administration’s main foreign policy objectives that aims to strengthen political, economic and social ties with Southeast Asia, India and other countries to the west and south of the Korean Peninsula.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)