President Park Geun-hye met with Le Luong Minh, the secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), on October 8 to discuss Korea-ASEAN cooperation and measures to bolster the relationship in the future. The ASEAN secretary general visited Korea to negotiate and prepare for the upcoming ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit, scheduled to be held in Busan this December.

President Park said, “Now is an important time for the launch of the ASEAN Community, scheduled for next year. I expect Secretary General Minh’s leadership to integrate the political influence of all ASEAN member countries.”

“Korea and ASEAN have been developing their bilateral relationship since 1989 when the two established a dialogue, which was then upgraded to a ‘strategic partnership’ in 2010. In the past, the bilateral relationship focused on economic cooperation, but since June this year, when Korea and ASEAN held their security dialogue, the relationship has also been developing in the security sector,” said President Park. “I believe cooperation should be extended to cover security across all of East Asia,” she added, proposing the regularization of security negotiations between Korea and ASEAN.


Secretary General Minh said that the bilateral relationship between Korea and ASEAN has achieved remarkable progress over the past 25 years in a range of areas, including politics, business and society. He expressed his gratitude for Korea’s active participation in the ASEAN+3 meetings, in the East Asian Summit and in the ASEAN Regional Forum, and the support it shows for ASEAN more generally.

Park noted that ASEAN has continued to make dynamic progress and plays a locomotive role in the world economy. For the launch of the ASEAN Community, slated to take place at the end of next year, she said the core tasks, such as narrowing the development gap within the region and boosting connectivity across the region, need to be completed. To this aim, the president said that the Korean government would cooperate with ASEAN on transport, communications and ICT infrastructure and on supporting legal and human resources for corporate activities, and it will cooperate with countries along the Mekong River.

In regard to issues involving the Korean Peninsula, Park called for the continuous support of ASEAN for Seoul's position, so that Pyongyang could give up its nuclear program and become a responsible member of the international community. She further asked for ASEAN’s support in the process of opening an era of reunification on the Korean Peninsula.

The ASEAN secretary general expressed his concern on North Korean and nuclear weapons issues, and supported the resumption of the six-party talks. Minh said that he has been against heightened tension on the Korean Peninsula, a position which was reaffirmed at the ASEAN summit which took place in April this year.

By Yoon Sojung
Photos: Cheong Wa Dae
arete@korea.kr