Korean newspaper talks about the President's visit to Vietnam

South Korean President Moon Jae-in

South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived in Hanoi on March 22, beginning his first visit to Vietnam as President of South Korea. Yonhap reported that the three-day state visit aims to strengthen bilateral relations and economic cooperation with Vietnam.

According to the announcement of the Blue House (South Korean presidential office), Mr. Moon's trip will begin with a visit to the Vietnam U23 team led by Korean coach Park Hang-seo.

The Vietnam U23 team under the leadership of Coach Park Hang-seo won the runner-up position at the Asian U23 Championship held in Changzhou, China in January 2018.

Previously, in an interview with the Vietnamese press, President Moon Jae-in said that the achievements of the Vietnam U23 team in general and of Mr. Park Hang-seo personally are symbols of the common strength of the two countries.

"I am very pleased that the U23 team has become a symbol proving that, through the 'Korea-Vietnam miracle' in sports, Vietnam and Korea can achieve anything when working together," said Mr. Moon Jae-in.

According to the working program, President Moon Jae-in will hold talks with President Tran Dai Quang of Vietnam tomorrow (March 23). He will also pay a courtesy visit to General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, meet with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and meet with Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

During his stay in Vietnam, Mr. Moon Jae-in and his wife will attend a reception hosted by President Tran Dai Quang and his wife, the Blue House said.

This visit to Vietnam by South Korean President Moon Jae-in marks his first official overseas trip this year and the second visit by a South Korean leader to a Southeast Asian country. Previously, last year, Mr. Moon visited Indonesia.

When taking office as President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in pledged to visit 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as part of South Korea's new policy to expand Seoul's international policy focus to neighboring Asian countries.

The purpose of the South Korean President's visit to Vietnam this time is to promote the development of economic relations with Vietnam - one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia.

Mr. Moon Jae-in previously said that bilateral trade between South Korea and Vietnam reached 63.9 billion USD in 2017 and Seoul hopes to achieve the goal of raising trade turnover between the two countries to more than 100 billion USD by 2020.

South Korea is currently Vietnam's second largest trading partner and Vietnam is South Korea's fourth largest partner.

"Korea will continue to seek ways to strengthen cooperation with Vietnam so that it can contribute to realizing Vietnam's goal of building a modern industrial country by 2020," Mr. Moon said in an interview with Vietnamese press.

After concluding his visit to Vietnam, on March 24, South Korean President Moon Jae-in will depart for Saudi Arabia - the final destination of his trip, where he will have a four-day state visit./.