Park arrives in Brussels for summit with Belgian PM, talks with EU leaders

BRUSSELS, Nov. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye arrived in Brussels on Thursday for summit talks with Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo and meetings with top European Union leaders.

The two-day trip begins with a visit to a war memorial honoring Belgium's participation in the 1950-53 Korean War. Park will then attend a "creative economy" forum with scientists and business people from the two countries and hold summit talks with Di Rupo.

Park plans to use the summit to pitch for expanding trade and investment between the two countries and to enlist the European nation with advanced science and technology as a key partner for her push to develop new growth engines under the "creative economy" drive, officials said.

While in Brussels, Park also plans to visit the European Union headquarters on Friday and hold talks with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy about boosting economic and other cooperation, including ensuring a smooth implementation of the free trade deal between the two sides.

South Korea and the EU plan to adopt a joint declaration laying out the vision for future cooperation.

The EU is the No. 1 investor in South Korea and the fourth-largest export market for the country. South Korea and the EU forged a free trade agreement in 2010, and the pact has been in force since 2011.