President Park Geun-hye held talks Sunday with more than a dozen leaders on regional and global challenges of North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, terrorism and territorial disputes, wrapping up her 10-day tour.
Park asked for cooperation from the leaders of the East Asia Summit to help resolve the dispute over North Korea’s nuclear program, according to Cheong Wa Dae.
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귀 기울이는 오바마 미국 대통령 (쿠알라룸푸르=연합뉴스) 백승렬 기자 = 박근혜 대통령이 21일 오후 말레이시아 쿠알라룸푸르 컨벤션센터에서 열린 동아시아정상회의(EAS) 갈라만찬에서 버락 오바마 미국 대통령과 대화하고 있다. 2015.11.21 srbaek@yna.co.kr/2015-11-21 23:42:36/ President Park Geun-hye talks to U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday at a gala dinner of the East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. YonhapPresident Park Geun-hye talks to U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday at a gala dinner of the East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Yonhap |
Kuala Lumpur was the third and last stop on her tour, which already has taken her to Turkey for the G-20 summit and the Philippines for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
Park and representatives of 16 countries participating in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership announced a joint declaration Sunday that calls for the conclusion of the deal by next year.
Other participants are Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, India and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ― Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.
They have so far held 10 rounds of negotiations since 2012.
The RCEP, if signed, will create an economic bloc whose member countries have a combined population of 3.4 billion people and whose trade volume will account for nearly 30 percent of the world’s trade.
Park had voiced her support for the RCEP at a meeting with the leaders of ASEAN, China and Japan ― dubbed the ASEAN+3 summit ― in Malaysia on Saturday.
Park also called for regional support to ensure North Korea “makes a strategic decision to abandon its nuclear weapons programs and choose the path of change.”
South Korea, China, Japan, the U.S. and Russia have been involved in the long-stalled negotiations to coax North Korea into abandoning its nuclear program.
She said the North’s nuclear issue must be resolved as economic development and growth cannot be achieved without regional peace and stability.
The annual summit is designed to discuss regional and international strategic issues. It is composed of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus its eight dialogue partners ― South Korea, China, Japan, the United States, Russia, Australia, India and New Zealand.
The meeting was held while territorial disputes in the South China Sea, one of the key shipping routes for South Korea and other regional countries, continue to heighten. China has been pushing for land reclamation projects in the South China Sea, creating tension with the U.S. and some Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines.
Park’s comments came just two days after she called for efforts for regional economic integration at a summit of the leaders of the APEC forum in Manila.
Days before the summit, Park and other world leaders held other high-profile summits where they condemned the recent deadly terrorist attacks in Paris that killed more than 120 people.
Park left for Seoul later in the day.
From news reports
