Yoon, Trudeau to meet in Seoul ahead of G-7

The flags of South Korea (left) and Canada. (123rf)

President Yoon Suk Yeol will discuss expanding ties with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at talks Wednesday next week, ahead of their plans to take part in the Group of Seven meeting in Japan from May 19-21.

Yoon’s office said the three-day visit by Trudeau that starts Tuesday offers an “opportunity for the two friendly countries sharing such universal values as freedom, democracy and the rule of law to discuss a plan for future cooperation.”

Last year, Seoul and Ottawa announced their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, an agreement that has given priority to upholding “freedom, democracy and the rules-based international system.” Also marking their 60 years of diplomatic relations this year, the two countries are pushing to deliver on their Indo-Pacific strategies -- efforts seen as rallying democracies and boosting economic ties.

“The prime minister will also champion Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and highlight Canada and Korea’s rich historical ties,” Trudeau’s office said in a statement Wednesday, noting economic and energy security are priorities at the meeting.

A week after the talks, Yoon and Trudeau will fly to Hiroshima for the Group of Seven meeting. Yoon has been invited to the gathering of powers discussing global issues. His participation is a chance to elevate Korea’s status in the international community, according to Yoon officials.

The South Korean leader is expected to hold three-way talks involving Japan and the US on the sidelines to build on their previous efforts to curb North Korea’s increasing aggression. Yoon met with his US and Japanese counterparts in April and May, respectively, having signed a deal with Washington on responding with the same force to any potential nuclear attacks from Pyongyang.

According to Japanese media outlets, Seoul and Tokyo will likely hold separate talks at the G-7 meeting, following their back-to-back summits that first started in March this year. Yoon flew to Tokyo on a two-day trip -- a visit reciprocated by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida from Sunday to Monday. The two leaders have agreed to put behind a dispute involving Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of the peninsula.

By Choi Si-young(siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com)