The Korea Herald

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Park to visit China, Myanmar, Australia next week

By KH디지털2

Published : Nov. 2, 2014 - 16:30

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South Korean President Park Geun-hye will visit China, Myanmar and Australia next week to attend a series of regional summits, her senior foreign affairs secretary said Sunday.

On the first leg of her trip, Park will visit Beijing for four days starting next Sunday to attend a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, Ju Chul-ki said in a press briefing.

From Beijing, she will fly to Naypyidaw, Myanmar to attend the East Asia Summit and a summit between member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its three Northeast Asian dialogue partners -- South Korea, China and Japan, according to Ju.

After the two-day visit to Myanmar, Park will fly to Brisbane, Australia for a summit of the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies and return home on Nov. 17, he said.

In Beijing, Park is scheduled to jointly lead a session with the leaders of three other nations during which they will take questions and exchange views with business representatives from within the APEC region.

During the session, Park also plans to introduce her government's business-friendly policies, including its push to lift excessive regulations and encourage the growth of innovative industries.

At the APEC summit, Park plans to take part in discussions on ways to strengthen partnerships toward building a future order for Asia-Pacific businesses and offer creative ideas for coexistence and co-prosperity to contribute to APEC's development.

On the summit's sidelines, Park is scheduled to hold a one-on-one meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss their countries' push to conclude a bilateral free trade agreement and other issues, including the political situation on the Korean Peninsula. It will be the fifth meeting between Park and Xi since the South Korean leader took office in February 2013.

Park will also meet with Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to discuss practical ways to expand the two countries' ties through construction and infrastructure projects.

In Myanmar, Park plans to use the ASEAN+3 summit to call for joint efforts to get North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program and win support for her vision for inter-Korean unification, known as the "Dresden declaration," Ju said. (Yonhap)