Moon to meet Australian, Russian leaders next week

President Moon Jae-in will hold summit meetings with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Russian President Vladimir Putin during his trip to Singapore and Papua New Guinea, Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday.

Seoul is also working on arranging meetings with US Vice President Mike Pence and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the trip.

According to Cheong Wa Dae, a meeting with Pence is being arranged at the request of the US, while Seoul and Beijing are discussing possible timings and locations for the Moon-Xi meeting.

Moon’s trip will begin Nov. 13 in Singapore, where he will attend the Korea-ASEAN Summit, ASEAN Plus Three Summit, and the East Asia Summit meetings.

On Nov. 14, Moon will attend a summit of countries negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

RCEP is a free trade deal being negotiated among 10 member states of ASEAN and Korea, Australia, China, India, Japan and New Zealand. The 10 ASEAN members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

“At the ASEAN summits, (Moon) will discuss ways to expand and strengthen cooperation with ASEAN, which is one of the main partners in the government’s New Southern Policy,” said Nam Gwan-pyo, deputy chief of the National Security Office.

He added that Moon will also brief the attending leaders on his administration’s push for establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Cheong Wa Dae also revealed that Seoul is in the process of arranging a special Korea-ASEAN Summit to be held in Korea next year, and that Moon will suggest a summit between Korea and countries along the Mekong.

From Singapore, Moon will travel to Papua New Guinea on Nov. 17 on a two-day schedule to attend the summit of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation.

During the second leg of the trip, Moon will pitch his vision of “innovative inclusive nation,” seek ways to cooperate for the development of the Asia-Pacific region, and meet with members of the APEC Business Advisory Council, Cheong Wa Dae officials said.

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