S. Korean, Vietnamese leaders agree to forge 'strategic partnership'

By Byun Duk-kun

HANOI, Oct. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Minh Triet agreed Wednesday to upgrade the relationship between their countries to a "strategic cooperative partnership."

The leaders also agreed to establish dialogue between their defense and foreign
ministries to forge cooperative security and political ties, according to a joint
statement issued by Lee and Triet after their summit here.
"The leaders of the two countries discussed ways to further improve the
Korea-Vietnam relationship that developed so rapidly in such a short period of
time since the countries established diplomatic ties in 1992," Lee's presidential
office Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release.
Vietnam is the third nation to establish a strategic partnership with South Korea
following China and Russia, according to South Korean officials accompanying
their president.
Lee and the Vietnamese president also called for efforts to double their nations'
bilateral trade to US$20 billion by 2015.
"We two leaders highly evaluated the fact that bilateral trade between our two
countries increased 20 times from about $500 million in 1992 when diplomatic ties
were established to $10 billion in 2008," they said in the joint statement.
The leaders also agreed to launch a joint study on the feasibility of a bilateral
free trade agreement before the year's end.
The South Korean president agreed to recognize Vietnam's Market Economy Status,
according to Cheong Wa Dae, a move that could significantly improve protection
for Vietnamese businesses and their products in trade with South Korea.
Lee arrived here Tuesday as part of his three-nation tour that will also take him
to Cambodia and Thailand, where he will attend a regional summit of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
South Korea and Vietnam will work closely together in international forums, such
as ASEAN, to promote their mutual interests, the Cheong Wa Dae press release
said.
"Especially for the improvement of the Korea-ASEAN relationship, President Lee
called for close cooperation with Vietnam, which will take the chair of ASEAN in
2010," it said.
Lee and Triet were expected to issue a joint statement on the outcome of their
summit at a press conference following their talks.
The South Korean president is also set for talks with Vietnam's Prime Minister
Nguyen Tan Dung and the secretary-general of Vietnam's Communist Party, Nong Duc
Manh.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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