Park to attend regional summits in Myanmar

By Kim Kwang-tae NAYPYIDAW, Nov. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye was to attend a high-profile regional summit expected to be dominated by such global issues as the Ebola virus, an official said Thursday. Park's office said that Asian and other leaders could also discuss ways to tackle the terrorist organization known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria during the East Asia Summit in Myanmar's capital. The East Asia Summit is an 18-nation forum grouping ASEAN plus its eight dialogue partners -- South Korea, China, Japan, the U.S., Russia, Australia, India and New Zealand. ASEAN consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam. Park also plans to attend a summit between ASEAN and its three Northeast Asian dialogue partners -- South Korea, China and Japan -- to call for joint efforts to pressure North Korea to give up its nuclear programs. On Wednesday, U.S. President Barack Obama said in Beijing that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping renewed their commitment to a "complete denuclearization" of North Korea, the latest in a series of diplomatic pushes on the isolated country. "We agreed that North Korea will not succeed in pursuing nuclear weapons and economic development," Obama said in a news conference with Xi after their two-day bilateral summit in Beijing. Despite international pressure, North Korea has repeatedly vowed to develop its economy and nuclear arsenal in tandem, viewing its nuclear programs as a powerful deterrent against what it claims is Washington's hostile policy toward it. From Myanmar, Park will fly to Brisbane, Australia, for a summit of the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies. The summit's wide-ranging agenda includes anti-corruption issues, development and trade. On Wednesday, Park encountered U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at a welcoming banquet for leaders who came to Naypyidaw for the two regional summits. Park's meeting with Ban drew South Korean media attention as it came amid lingering speculation on Ban's potential bid for the presidency in 2017. Details of their conversation were not immediately available. Ban's office in New York has disavowed any presidential ambitions, though speculation has not died down. Also Wednesday, Park met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked him to allow South Korean companies to participate in huge infrastructure projects in the world's second-most populous country, according to Park's office. Modi told Park that he welcomes South Korean companies' investment in construction projects in India. entropy@yna.co.kr (END)