S. Korean foreign minister heads to Hanoi to attend ASEM

SEOUL, May 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan left Sunday for Vietnam where he will attend the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) to discuss various international issues, such as the global financial crisis and the North Korean nuclear issue.

Yu is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech during the ASEM foreign ministerial
meeting that will begin Monday in Hanoi.
The South Korean minister is expected to share his country's continued efforts to
resolve the North Korean nuclear issue and ways to ride out the ongoing financial
turmoil, officials at the foreign ministry said.
"ASEM is an important venue through which we can strengthen our relations with
Asian and European countries," a ministry official said. "At the upcoming
meeting, the ministry will work to win the support of other ASEM nations for our
country's efforts to overcome the global economic crisis."
Senior government officials from a total of 45 Asian and European countries will
participate in the meeting, he added.
Yu will also hold bilateral talks with his Vietnamese and Japanese counterparts
on the sidelines of the two-day meeting.
ASEM was formed in March 1996 to strengthen cooperation between Asia and Europe.
The group summit of ASEM member countries is held every two years, while the
foreign ministerial meeting takes place in the year the summit is not held.