President of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Moon Jae-in on 12 November emphasised the significance of two upcoming summits with Southeast Asian nations for his New Southern Policy.

The ASEAN-RoK train in the RoK (Photo: VNA)

In a weekly Cabinet meeting in the southern port city of Busan, he pointed out that the ASEAN-RoK Commemorative Summit, slated for 25-26 November, will be the biggest multilateral summit to be held in the country under his government. 

It is also an important diplomatic event for the co-prosperity of the RoK and ASEAN, he underlined.

In addition, the Mekong- RoK Summit is scheduled for 27 November involving the five nations of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam.

Moon described the summits as a midterm review of the New Southern Policy that was introduced in 2017.

He cited two major changes in his administration’s diplomacy from that of previous ones. One is to pursue a resolution to the Korean Peninsula issue through dialogue and diplomacy. And the other is to make a big leap in diplomatic and trade relations with ASEAN.

As part of the initiative, Moon added, his government has endeavoured constantly to improve ties with ASEAN members. He has already kept his promise to visit all 10 ASEAN countries during his presidency.

Last week, he attended a series of meetings within the framework of the 35^th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok, Thailand, including the ASEAN Plus Three summit, East Asia Summit session and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) meeting.

(Source: VNA)