Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Lee Tae-ho on 8 May reiterated the Republic of Korea (RoK)'s policy commitment to deepening ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Eurasian countries for regional peace and prosperity.

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Lee Tae-ho (Photo: Yonhap)

Speaking at a forum on the RoK’s New Southern and Northern Policies involving the above-said countries, Lee highlighted the Korean government's wish to expand cooperation with them in people-to-people exchanges, trade, development and other areas.

The Korean government will mobilise all of its capabilities to implement the policies, he told the forum hosted by the state-run Korean National Diplomatic Academy in Seoul.

These are the core policies that reflect the Korean government's will to contribute to prosperity in Asia and in Eurasia based on peace on the Korean Peninsula, he added.

Lee said that the RoK will push to increase the combined number of Korean tourists to ASEAN countries and visitors from the regional bloc to 15 million in 2020 from 10 million recorded last year.

The East Asian country also expects to boost trade with ASEAN to 200 billion USD by 2020 from 160 billion USD last year, he added.

In addition, the RoK will seek to further foster trade and other exchanges with Russia, particularly as the two countries prepare to mark the 30th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2020.

The New Southern Policy seeks to beef up cooperation with the 10-member ASEAN, an increasingly crucial partner due to its economic potential, resources and growing diplomatic influence, while the New Northern Policy aims to strengthen economic cooperation with Russia and other Eurasian countries.

(Source: VNA)