S. Korean president due in Thailand for ASEAN summit

By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, April 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak will embark on a
three-day trip this week to Thailand for a summit with the 10 member nations of
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that will also be attended by
the region's largest economies, Japan and China, the presidential office Cheong
Wa Dae said Wednesday.
Lee's participation in the ASEAN summit comes as Seoul is seeking to
significantly bolster relations with other Asian nations through its so-called
New Asia Initiative policy.
"President Lee's first participation in the ASEAN summit is expected to help
strengthen the country's cooperation with ASEAN and also help shape the New Asia
Initiative," Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release.
Under the new diplomatic initiative, South Korea will seek to sign free trade
deals with the region's major economies at the earliest possible date to form a
network of economic cooperation and dependency that could provide the basis of a
regional economic bloc.
The plan also calls on Seoul to become the so-called "Speaker of Asia" by
actively promoting the mutual interests of countries in the region.
ASEAN consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. Seoul plans to hold a special
summit with the Southeast Asian countries in its resort island of Jeju in June.
Top agendas for the upcoming Thailand summit, known as ASEAN Plus Three as it
also involves the three Northeast Asian nations -- Korea, Japan and China --
include securing food and financial stability in Asia as the region has
experienced a series of food price hikes in recent years while trying to fight
off the global economic crisis.
A chairman's statement is expected at the end of the one-day summit to be held
Saturday, calling for increased cooperation between the countries on securing
food security and developing renewable energy, according to the presidential
office.
The South Korean president will be in Thailand from Friday through Sunday.
This week's summit also comes after North Korea launched a long-range rocket in
defiance of repeated warnings by the international community in what it claimed
was part of a space program to put a communications satellite into orbit.
Lee is widely expected to seek the support of the Southeast Asian nations, as
well as Japan and China, for Seoul's call on the communist North to immediately
halt its provocative missile tests and honor its denuclearization pledges.
The Thailand gathering will also bring together Australia, India and New Zealand
in a separate forum called the East Asia Summit, to be held Sunday.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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