ASEAN sec-gen on three-day working visit to South Korea

JAKARTA, June 14 (Bernama) -- ASEAN secretary-general Dr Kao Kim Hourn will make an inaugural working visit to South Korea starting Thursday at the invitation of Foreign Minister Park Jin.

Dr Kao will pay courtesy calls on Prime Minister Han Duck-Soo and on Park, as well as meet with the ASEAN Committee in Seoul, according to the ASEAN Secretariat.

He is scheduled to deliver a special lecture at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, and also receive an Honorary Doctorate in Political Science from the Busan University of Foreign Studies.

The three-day working visit is expected to further strengthen ASEAN-South Korea relations. The parties will celebrate 35 years of dialogue relations next year.

ASEAN accorded South Korea a full Dialogue Partner status at the 24th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in July 1991 in Kuala Lumpur and the partnership was elevated to a Summit level in 1997 in Kuala Lumpur.

-- BERNAMA