Leaders of S. Korea, ASEAN agree to elevate ties to highest level

VIENTIANE, Laos -- South Korea and ASEAN inked the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Thursday, with ASEAN placing South Korea alongside superpowers such as the United States and China in the organization's hierarchy of diplomatic relationships. South Korea has become the sixth country that ASEAN is in dialogue partnership with, after the United States, China, Japan, India and Australia. ASEAN, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is comprised of 10 countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indone

Oct. 10, 2024

Yoon to hold bilateral talks with leaders of Japan, Canada, Australia

VIENTIANE, Laos -- President Yoon Suk Yeol is to hold bilateral talks with the leaders of six countries attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit and related events on Thursday and Friday, after having arrived in Vientiane, Laos, Wednesday evening. According to the presidential office, Yoon will meet leaders representing Japan, Canada and Australia. At 10 p.m. Wednesday Laos time, Seoul announced that Yoon would sit down for talks with Japan's newly elected Prime Minister

Oct. 9, 2024

Security issues to take center stage at ASEAN summit

VIENTIANE. Laos -- International and regional security concerns will take center stage at the Association of Southeast Asian Nation Summit this week, as leaders will likely apply pressure on China and Russia over ongoing geopolitical conflicts. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japan's newly elected Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba both confirmed their trip to Vientiane, Laos, Tuesday. Beijing also confirmed that Chinese Premier Li Qiang will attend the multilateral meetings. President Yoon

Oct. 9, 2024

Unified Korea would be massive market: Yoon

SINGAPORE -- President Yoon Suk Yeol said Wednesday that a unified Korean Peninsula that is free and at peace would unlock massive economic opportunities in the Indo-Pacific region. "A unified Korean Peninsula that is free and open will also create a strong impetus for economic development and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific," Yoon said at the 47th Singapore Lecture, organized by the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute that was formerly known as the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. "A

Oct. 9, 2024

New orchid hybrid in Singapore named after Yoon, his wife

SINGAPORE -- A new orchid hybrid in Singapore was named after President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee while Yoon was on a state visit to the Southeast Asian country, according to the presidential office on Wednesday. The orchid was named "Dendrobium Yoon Suk Yeol Kim Keon Hee" on the occasion of their visit to the Singapore Botanic Gardens on Tuesday. Dendrobium refers to one of the genera of the Orchidaceae family, according to Yoon's office. According to Singapore�

Oct. 9, 2024

Yoon visits Hyundai Motor's AI-powered factory in Singapore

SINGAPORE -- President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday visited the highly automated Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center Singapore, a car manufacturing facility powered by artificial intelligence and robots, on the sidelines of his state visit to the city-state. Yoon inspected the automated car manufacturing line that uses the "cell production" system in which a small team of human employees and robots is responsible for a specific assembly process. The factory operates 27 such cells. Accord

Oct. 8, 2024

S. Korea, Singapore seal supply chain agreement

SINGAPORE -- The leaders of South Korea and Singapore on Tuesday agreed to ensure resilience in the supply chain as the two countries signed a new bilateral arrangement to weather supply chain crises especially in advanced manufacturing, biotechnology and energy. The nonbinding supply chain partnership arrangement was signed during President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visit to the city-state as part of a weeklong trip to Southeast Asia. In a press conference held Tuesday at the Parliament House of Si

Oct. 8, 2024

Yoon, Marcos agree to upgrade military, infrastructure, nuclear ties

MANILA, Philippines -- President Yoon Suk Yeol and his Philippines counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr. agreed on South Korea's greater participation in the Southeast Asian country's bid to boost military readiness, build infrastructure and introduce nuclear energy, according to Yoon's office on Monday. During the bilateral meeting of Yoon and Marcos, Seoul and Manila elevated their ties to a Strategic Partnership. The declaration will "open a new chapter of our partnership,"

Oct. 7, 2024

Yoon set for talks with Marcos in Philippines

MANILA, The Philippines -- President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday arrived in the Philippines for a state visit, as part of a weeklong trip to three Southeast Asian countries that will culminate in the ASEAN summit later this week. Yoon is the first South Korean leader to make a state visit to the Philippines in 13 years. Upon arrival at Manila, the Philippine capital, Yoon attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the Korean War Memorial Pylon at the Heroes' Cemetery in Manila, in memory of the 112 F

Oct. 6, 2024

Yoon aims to elevate ties on Southeast Asian trip

President Yoon Suk Yeol is poised to visit Laos for the South Korea-ASEAN summit in Vientiane, Laos, on Oct. 10, with both sides working to upgrade ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the highest level in ASEAN's diplomatic hierarchy. Laos will be one of the three Southeast Asian nations Yoon plans to visit next week, along with the Philippines and Singapore. This year's summit between South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will mark a watershed moment, K

Oct. 3, 2024