Thai foreign minister due in Seoul

SEOUL, March 9 (Yonhap) -- Thailand's Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya will visit
South Korea later this week for talks with his counterpart on ways to strengthen
cooperation on bilateral and global issues, officials here said Monday.
During his two-day stay in Seoul that begins Friday, the minister will also
attend a ceremony to launch an international agency tasked with promoting Seoul's
ties with Southeast Asian nations and pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Han
Seung-soo.
Thailand chairs this year's meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) also involving Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam.
"Minister Kasit will attend the inaugural event for the South Korea-ASEAN center
on Friday," foreign ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young said.
Agendas for his talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan include
the South Korea-ASEAN special summit slated for early June on the southern island
of Jeju and the ASEAN-plus-three summit on the Thai resort island of Phuket next
month, added Moon.
It would mark the Thai minister's first visit to South Korea since he took office
last December.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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