Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan will make a trip to Myanmar next week, the first South Korean foreign minister to visit the country in 27 years as Seoul seeks to improve ties with the Southeast Asian country, officials said Thursday.

During the two-day visit that begins next Tuesday, Kim will hold talks with Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin and pay a courtesy call to President Thein Sein, ministry spokesman Cho Byung-jae said.

“At the talks, the two nations plan to discuss ways to promote practical cooperation, while assessing progress Myanmar has made in the fields of democratization and human rights,” Cho said.

It will be the first time that a South Korean foreign minister visits Myanmar since 1985, Cho said.

Myanmar, one of the world’s most isolated nations, has taken steps to carry out democratic and economic reforms since its military rulers handed power to a nominally civilian government last year. 

(Yonhap News)