S. Korea's top diplomat holds talks with Malaysian, Indonesian counterparts at APEC

South Korea's Foreign Minister Park Jin (right) and Malaysian Foreign Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir (left) pose for a photo after a meeting on Tuesday, on the margins of APEC ministerial meeting. (Yonhap)

South Korea's foreign minister held a series of talks with his Malaysian and Indonesian counterparts in San Francisco this week and requested for their countries' support in South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo, his office said Saturday.

Park Jin made the request during separate meetings with Malaysian Foreign Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on Tuesday on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ministerial meeting.

During his talks with Zambry, Park also requested support from Malaysia in efforts to elevate relations between South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year to a "comprehensive strategic partnership," according to Seoul's foreign ministry.

South Korea's Foreign Minister Park Jin (right) and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi (left) pose for a photo after a meeting on Tuesday, on the margins of APEC ministerial meeting. (Yonhap)

The two sides also agreed to further strengthen economic cooperation in supply chains and other areas by making efforts to sign a bilateral free trade agreement.

In his talks with Marsudi, Park requested for Jakarta's interest for the completion of the joint KF-21 fighter jet development project amid concerns over Jakarta's overdue payments in the project, currently estimated to be around 1 trillion won ($ 771.4 million).

Indonesia has agreed to shoulder around 20 percent of the project's cost of 8.1 trillion won through 2026. (Yonhap)