President Park Geun-hye left for Malaysia on Friday for a string of high-profile summits with regional leaders to discuss a wide-range of issues, including the economy and North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
Kuala Lumpur is the third and last stop on her 10-day tour, which already took her to Turkey for the summit of the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies.
In Manila, Park and other leaders of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum strongly condemned terrorism and supported a free trade area in the region at their annual summit.
Park said Thursday that efforts for economic integration should lead to the realization of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific.
In Kuala Lumpur, Park is set to attend a summit between ASEAN and its three Northeast Asian dialogue partners — South Korea, China and Japan — on Saturday.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.
The leaders are expected to review progress of their cooperation in the economy, finance and science, and to discuss how to pursue cooperation in the future, according to Cheong Wa Dae, South Korea’s presidential office.
Separately, Park is set to meet with Australia’s new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on the sidelines of the summit.
On Sunday, Park is scheduled to attend the East Asia Summit, an annual forum meant to discuss regional and international strategic issues. It is composed of ASEAN plus its eight dialogue partners — South Korea, China, Japan, the U.S, Russia, Australia, India and New Zealand.
Park plans to ask for cooperation from the leaders of the East Asia Summit to help resolve the dispute over North Korea’s nuclear program, Cheong Wa Dae said.
South Korea, China, Japan, the U.S. and Russia have been involved in the long-stalled negotiations to try to coax North Korea to abandon its nuclear program.
Still, North Korea has repeatedly vowed to develop its economy and nuclear arsenal in tandem, despite repeated warnings from Seoul and Washington that the policy is a dead end for the country.
Park also plans to hold a meeting with her counterparts from ASEAN countries. (Yonhap)
