Moon requests Vietnam's constructive role in Korea peace process

SEOUL, Nov. 27 (Yonhap) -- President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday requested Vietnam play a constructive role on the North Korea issue taking advantage of its role next year as the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. "There will be more fields for South Korea and Vietnam to cooperate on the international stage," he told Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the outset of their Cheong Wa Dae summit in Seoul, according to a pool report. Moon returned to his office earlier in the day after holding the ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit and the inaugural Mekong-Republic of Korea Summit in Busan, 450 kilometers southeast of the capital. The Vietnamese prime minister joined the back-to-back sessions held from Monday till Wednesday morning, along with the leaders of other ASEAN member states. Moon agreed to hold the bilateral summit with Phuc in Seoul as he has made his first official visit here as prime minister on the occasion of the Busan event. Moon mentioned the Vietnamese men's national football team led by South Korean coach Park Hang-seo. Park is popular among Vietnamese people for the squad's good performances under his leadership. Moon also pointed out that there are more than 60,000 South Korean-Vietnamese married couples, saying the two nations "now have become a family." This year, South Korea and Vietnam mark the 10th anniversary of their "strategic cooperative partnership." "I hope to upgrade synergy between Vietnam's industrial country vision and South Korea's New Southern Policy to another dimension," Moon told Phuc. He thanked Vietnam for having hosted the second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un early this year. Phuc agreed that South Korea is one of Vietnam's most important partners. He described South Korea's successful hosting of this week's summit with ASEAN as "symbolically showing beautiful relations" between the two sides. In closed-door talks, Moon briefed him on Seoul's policy on Pyongyang, highlighted by its three-point principle of zero tolerance for war, mutual security guarantees and co-prosperity, according to Cheong Wa Dae. The president "requested Vietnam to play a constructive role" on the Korea issue as it is scheduled to assume the rotating ASEAN chairmanship in 2020 and become a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. Hanoi's two-year term on the panel is to start next year. Moon also proposed joint efforts between Seoul and Hanoi for peace and prosperity in the region and around the world. In response, Phuc expressed a commitment to "keen attention and an active role" in connection with the Korean Peninsula, Cheong Wa Dae said. He reaffirmed Vietnam's support for the New Southern Policy of the Moon administration. Moon and Phuc agreed on the need to accelerate cooperation on the strengthening of legal and systemic foundations to buttress rapidly developing relations between the two sides. The president also asked Vietnam to pay more interest in expanding mutual investment in cutting-edge technologies, industrial materials and components and financial services. South Korea has been redoubling efforts to diversify the supply channel of key industrial materials amid a trade fight with Japan. Moon expressed expectations about the South Korea-Vietnam Smart City Cooperation Center to open next year and presented a vision for the expansion of partnerships in the public administration sector such as comprehensive city planning and construction of industrial and residential complexes. They took note of South Korea's plan to open a consulate general in the coastal Vietnamese city of Danang in early 2020. South Korea is a top investor in Vietnam, with accumulated investment tallied at US$62.6 billion as of the end of 2018. Vietnam is South Korea's No. 4 trade partner after China, the United States and Japan. Two-way trade volume hit $68.3 billion last year. lcd@yna.co.kr (END)