The Korea Herald

소아쌤

Park returns home after three-nation swing for regional summits

By KH디지털2

Published : Nov. 23, 2015 - 11:31

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President Park Geun-hye returned home Monday after a three-nation swing to attend a string of summits with regional leaders on how to deepen economic integration.
  

Still, the summits were partly overshadowed by the recent deadly terrorist attacks in Paris that killed more than 120 people.
  

Park and more than a dozen regional leaders condemned the series of attacks in Paris and other areas as was the case in the two other high-profile summits last week.
  

"We denounce terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, including the spread of violent extremist ideologies and propaganda" according to a statement issued at the end of the East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur.
  

In Turkey, Park and other leaders of the G-20 summit condemned the deadly attacks in Paris and said they "remain united in combating terrorism."
  

In Manila, Park and other leaders of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum also strongly condemned terrorism and called for international cooperation and solidarity in the fight against terrorism.
  

The summits were focused, among other things, on ongoing efforts to forge economic integration in the region.
  

APEC leaders reiterated their belief that a free trade area in the Asia-Pacific region should be pursued as a comprehensive free trade agreement by building on ongoing regional undertakings.
  

Last year, APEC leaders endorsed the Beijing roadmap for the realization of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) at their summit in the Chinese capital.
  

Currently, a strategic study is under way for the realization of the FTAAP. A final report is scheduled to be submitted to the leaders at next year's APEC summit in Peru.
  

Separately, Park is expected to meet with the bereaved family members of former President Kim Young-sam, who died at age 88 on Sunday, and offer her condolences over his death.
  

"My heart goes out to the bereaved family members, and I pray for the soul of the deceased," Park said in Kuala Lumpur, according to presidential spokesman Jeong Yeon-guk.
  

South Korea plans to hold a state funeral for Kim -- an iconic figure in South Korea's pro-democracy movement -- on Thursday.
  

Kim fought against military rulers for decades and laid the groundwork for a peaceful power transition in a country rife with military coups. (Yonhap)