Yoon to embark on diplomatic trip to Peru, Brazil for APEC, G20 summits

President Yoon Suk Yeol is scheduled to embark on an eight-day trip later this week to Peru and Brazil to take part in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and Group of 20 (G20) summits, the presidential office said Tuesday.

People walk by the entrance of the Lima Convention Center, a part of the government complex where the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit will take place in Lima, Peru, later this week on Monday. [AFP/YONHAP]

President Yoon Suk Yeol is scheduled to embark on an eight-day trip later this week to Peru and Brazil to take part in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and Group of 20 (G20) summits, the presidential office said Tuesday.

Yoon will travel to Peru from Thursday to Saturday to participate in the APEC summit, Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo said in a briefing at the Yongsan presidential office. From Sunday to Tuesday, Yoon will head to Brazil for the G20 summit.

On the margins of the multilateral events, Yoon could hold a series of bilateral and trilateral summits, possibly with the leaders of China, Japan and the United States.

Yoon is arranging a bilateral summit with new Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, a senior presidential official told reporters. He may also hold a separate trilateral summit with outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden and Ishiba. Bilateral talks between Yoon and Chinese President Xi Jinping are also being discussed.

In Lima, Peru, Yoon is expected to stress at the main session of the APEC summit Friday that South Korea, as the APEC chair next year, will take the lead in discussions on creating a free and stable trade and investment environment.

Yoon will also make a keynote address at the CEO summit, where South Korea will accept the chairmanship for the 2025 APEC gathering to be held in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang. He will also take part in a leaders' retreat Saturday.

Yoon will also hold a bilateral summit with Peruvian President Dina Boluarte Saturday on the sidelines of the APEC gathering and take part in a signing ceremony for the nameplate of a Korea-built vessel at a shipyard in Peru.

At the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Yoon will address South Korea's efforts to eradicate hunger and poverty, overcome the climate crisis and transition to clean energy.

Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo gives a press briefing on President Yoon Suk Yeol's trip to Peru and Brazil for the APEC and G20 summits later this week at the Yongsan presidential office in Seoul Tuesday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Kim stressed that the trip is an opportunity for Korea to "expand our diplomatic horizon and practical cooperation to Central and South America" and "emphasize the need for international community solidarity regarding military cooperation between Russia and North Korea."

There is keen interest over whether Yoon's first meeting with President-elect Donald Trump will be arranged as a part of this overseas trip, and whether it could include a stop in the United States.

"We are continuing to communicate closely with President-elect Trump," a presidential official said Tuesday, noting that "there are many variables" at the moment.

Yoon and Trump held their first phone call last Thursday and agreed to meet in the near future.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]