President Moon Jae-in from Nov. 12-15 will attend a series of summits through videoconferencing with member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Pictured here is the president (sixth from left) holding hands with Southeast Asian leaders at the 2019 ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit on Nov. 26. in Busan. (ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit)

By Kim Young Deok and Lee Hana

President Moon Jae-in from Nov. 12-15 will participate in five virtual summits with member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

On Nov. 12, he will attend the nation's 21st bilateral summit with ASEAN and unveil his "New Southern Policy Plus Strategy," an upgrade to his New Southern Policy announced three years ago.

The latest initiative seeks to reflect changes in the domestic and global environments including reorganization of the global supply chain amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a shift towards a digital economy, response to climate change and new cooperation demands from new southern countries.

On Nov. 13, the president will attend a summit with the five Southeast Asian nations surrounded by the Mekong River, followed the next day by the ASEAN Plus Three (Korea, China and Japan) Summit and the East Asia Summit.

On Nov. 15, the president is expected to sign the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the world's largest free trade agreement, between the ten ASEAN member states and five partner nations including Korea, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

kyd1991@korea.kr