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President Yoon Suk-yeol (Yonhap) |
President Yoon Suk-yeol will hold a summit with Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Seoul on Thursday and discuss pending bilateral and major international issues, the presidential office said on Monday.
According to Kim Sung-han, head of the National Security Office, Widodo will arrive in Seoul Wednesday for a two-day visit.
On Thursday, the Indonesian leader will visit Hyundai Motor Technology Research Institute in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, after a meeting with business leaders. He plans to return to Seoul to visit the Memorial Tower and hold a summit and joint press conference with Yoon. After that, an official dinner with the two leaders will also be held and Korean business leaders will attend.
“Indonesia is a key country that accounts for 41 percent of ASEAN‘s population and 34 percent of ASEAN’s GDP, and is the only ASEAN country to have a special strategic alliance with Korea,” Kim said.
“Indonesia is also a key country in the supply chain of key minerals, participating in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework,” he added.
Widodo‘s visit to Korea signals the start of Yoon’s ASEAN diplomacy as well as Korea-Indonesia relations, the NSC chief said.
The Korean government predicted that the issue of contributions from Indonesia, a co-developer of the Korean-style fighter jet (KF-21 Boramae), will be resolved with President Widodo‘s visit to Korea.
Asked whether the issue of non-payment of KF-21 contributions will be discussed in the bilateral summit, an official at the presidential office said on the condition of anonymity, “The issue is also expected to be discussed in the process of discussing various agendas.”
By Shin Ji-hye (
shinjh@heraldcorp.com)
