President Park Geun-hye will leave for Paris on Sunday to attend a global summit set to discuss ways to tackle climate change, Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday.
After Paris, Park will fly to Prague for an official visit to upgrade bilateral ties with the European country and hold a separate meeting with so-called Visegrad Group countries ― the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, the office said.
The seven-day trip follows a three-nation tour for a string of high-profile regional summits.
Despite “the considerably tight schedules,” Park’s top aide on foreign affairs Kim Kyou-hyun said Park decided to attend the climate change meeting to seize new business opportunities in the areas of renewable energy technology, with South Korea being a founding member of a new deal to be launched on combating climate change.
The deal urges member countries to join efforts to limiting global warming below 2 degrees Celsius.
More than 160 countries ― which account for about 90 percent of global emissions ― have put forward climate targets for post-2020.
In June, South Korea offered to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 37 percent of business-as-usual levels by 2030, equivalent to 850.6 million tons of carbon dioxide.
Also in Paris, Park is set to deliver a speech at UNESCO and meet with the head of the U.N. cultural agency, Kim said.
By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)
