President Yoon Suk Yeol on Oct. 2 speaks at an urgent economy and national security meeting at the Office of the President in Seoul on the conflict in the Middle East. (Office of the President)
President Yoon Suk Yeol from Oct. 6-11 will go on a six-day tour of the Philippines, Singapore and Laos.
Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo on Oct. 3 released the president's itinerary in a briefing at the Office of the President in Seoul.
President Yoon will visit the Philippines from Oct. 6-7 and Singapore from Oct. 8-9. In Laos on Oct. 10, he will attend the ASEAN and ASEAN Plus Three summits.
On Oct. 6, he will lay a wreath at a Korean War memorial and meet ethnic Koreans in the Philippines. The next day, he will hold a summit with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on boosting bilateral ties.
"President Yoon will make the country's first state visit to the Philippines in 13 years since Lee Myung-bak in 2011," Adviser Kim said. "As this year marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations, the trip is an opportunity to raise bilateral cooperation to the next level."
On Oct. 8, President Yoon will hold talks with Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. As both countries will mark the 50th anniversary of official ties next year, Korea will expand cooperation in artificial intelligence, digital and cutting-edge technologies, and supply chains with Singapore, a global hub of finance, logistics and transportation.
The next day, President Yoon will give a speech at Singapore Lecture hosted by a Singaporean public think tank on a vision for reunification of the Korean Peninsula for freedom, peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.
On the final leg of his tour, the president will go to the Laotian capital of Vientiane to attend the ASEAN and ASEAN Plus Three summits. He will also hold bilateral talks there with five or six countries such as Vietnam and Thailand.
"We decided to form a comprehensive strategic partnership with ASEAN at this year's summit to upgrade ties to the highest level," Adviser Kim said. "This upgrade is proof that Korea-ASEAN ties have reached their best status in 14 years since the launch of their strategic partnership."
On the morning of Oct. 11, President Yoon will attend the East Asia Summit in Vientiane before flying back to Seoul.
gilkyuyoung@korea.kr
