Yoon to visit Philippines, Singapore and Laos ahead of Asean meetings

The presidential office announced Thursday that President Yoon Suk Yeol will visit the Philippines, Singapore and Laos next week as part of a six-day Southeast Asia trip to attend a series of Asean-related gatherings.

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, fifth from left, poses for a commemorative photo with Southeast Asian leaders ahead of the South Korea-Asean Summit in Indonesia on Sept. 6, 2023. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The presidential office announced Thursday that President Yoon Suk Yeol will visit the Philippines, Singapore and Laos as part of a six-day Southeast Asia trip to attend a series of Asean-related gatherings next week.

Yoon will begin the trip on Sunday, making state visits to the Philippines and Singapore focused on expanding trade and investment, before attending a series of meetings involving the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Laos, Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo announced in a press briefing at the Yongsan presidential office.

Korea will also focus on establishing a comprehensive strategic partnership with Asean to deepen cooperation with Southeast Asia.

The president will be accompanied by first lady Kim Keon Hee on the three-country trip, which could also be an occasion for a series of bilateral meetings, including Yoon's first talks with Japan's new prime minister.

Consultations are underway to arrange Yoon's first talks with Shigeru Ishiba, Japan's new prime minister, in Laos on the margins of the Asean meetings, a senior presidential official told reporters Thursday.

Noting that Ishiba has not formally confirmed his participation in the Asean summit, the official said, "We are discussing bilateral talks on the assumption that he will come to Laos."

Japanese broadcaster NHK reported earlier that day that Ishiba, who took office on Tuesday, plans to have his first summit with Yoon on the margins of the Asean gatherings. The two leaders held their first phone call on Wednesday.

Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo holds a press conference announcing President Yoon Suk Yeol's three-country, six-day trip to Southeast Asia trip for Asean-related meetings at the Yongsan presidential office in Seoul on Thursday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Yoon will visit Manila from Sunday to Monday to hold a bilateral summit with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and discuss ways to elevate bilateral ties.

On Sunday, Yoon will lay a wreath at the Korean War Memorial in Manila and is scheduled to hold a banquet for Koreans living in the Philippines.

On Monday, Yoon will visit a monument for the Philippine national hero Jose Rizal and later be received in an official welcoming ceremony by Marcos and his wife at Malacañan Palace. The two leaders will have a bilateral summit, attend a state luncheon and attend a Korea-Philippines business forum.

This will mark the first state visit to the Philippines in about 13 years since former President Lee Myung-bak's trip in November 2011.

"Through this visit, the president plans to expand trade and investment cooperation, which has been the central axis in the development of the relationship between the two countries, and engage in sales diplomacy, including support for Korean companies securing orders for large-scale infrastructure projects," Kim said, highlighting further cooperation in supply chains, defense industry and energy sectors.

"It will be an opportunity to take cooperation between the two countries to the next level in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year," Kim added.

The presidential office noted that the Philippines has abundant minerals like nickel and cobalt. Talks on nuclear power plant construction cooperation are also on the agenda.

"The Philippines plans to resume nuclear power plant construction, which has been suspended since 1986," Park Chun-seop, senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, said in a briefing Thursday, and hopes to cooperate with Korea because of its competitiveness in building nuclear power plants.

"Specific cooperation plans will be discussed through this visit," he added.

Park Chun-seop, senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, holds a press briefing on President Yoon Suk Yeol's upcoming trip to the Phillipines, Singapore and Laos at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul on Thursday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

On Tuesday, Yoon will begin his state visit to Singapore, starting with a welcoming ceremony. He will hold a bilateral summit with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and hold talks with Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

Yoon and first lady Kim will attend an orchid naming ceremony with Wong and his wife, followed by a luncheon.

Yoon will also visit Korean company sites, participate in a Korea-Singapore business forum and attend a state banquet hosted by the Singaporean president.

He is also set to deliver an address on South Korea's unification vision on Wednesday and how it will contribute to broader freedom, peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, Kim said.

Yoon's Singapore visit signifies the "evolving cooperation paradigm between the two countries ahead of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations," Kim said. He noted that the two countries have focused on trade and investment over the past half century and plan to expand cooperation to artificial intelligence (AI), digital technology and supply chains in strategic materials, as Singapore is the hub of global finance, logistics and transportation.

Yoon will head to the final leg of his trip, Laos, later Wednesday.

Korean Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park An-su, center, poses with his counterparts from Asean countries during the first Korea-Asean Armies Chiefs Conference in Daejeon Thursday. [YONHAP]

On Thursday, Yoon will attend the Asean summit and Asean Plus Three summit involving South Korea, China and Japan.

He is also scheduled to hold a relay of bilateral summits including with the leaders of Vietnam, Thailand and Laos. He will later attend an Asean gala.

On Friday, Yoon will attend the East Asian Summit, a regional security forum, before returning to Seoul.

This marks the third consecutive year Yoon will attend the Asean-related meetings.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, has 10 member states: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

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