VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The ASEAN-Republic of Korea Summit will take place in Busan City, South Korea on November 25-27. The meeting will mark the close relations between ASEAN and South Korea, which have been running since 1989. The summit will also draw up a blueprint for the ASEAN-Korea relations for the next 3 decades. This was conveyed by Lim Sung-nam, South Korean Ambassador to ASEAN based in Jakarta in a dialogue forum held by the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club (JFCC) in Jakarta on Thursday (10/24). Since November 2017, there has been a change in the flow of Korea's foreign policy through the New Southern Policy. The implementation of the 'New Southern Policy' focuses on 3Ps: people, peace, and prosperity. Especially with Indonesia and ASEAN, Lim Sung-nam also expressed his commitment to build an economic partnership between South Korea and ASEAN, which is led by Indonesia, equivalent to 4 powerful countries around it. The close relationship between ASEAN and South Korea will strengthen cooperation in the fields of labor exchanges, technology and cultural arts. He also hopes to build a community of mutual prosperity through mutual economic cooperation with Indonesia, and to further contribute to peace throughout Asia by security cooperation. Bilateral trade volume is targeted to reach US$30 billion dollars by 2022 and more than US$50 billion dollars in the long run.

How about North Korea? In the 33rd ASEAN Summit in Singapore in November 2018, President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo proposed that Leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un be invited to the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-South Korea cooperation this November. According to President Joko Widodo, the invitation will encourage peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula; he also encouraged the meeting to make North Korea be committed to a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. For 5 decades, Indonesia has established bilateral relations with North Korea and fully supports the ongoing peaceful situation on the Korean Peninsula. Although it was mentioned that he would attend the summit, until now there is no certainty whether Leader Kim Jong-un will fulfill the invitation. There is still one month ahead to improve communication between the parties' diplomacy towards North Korea, so that the 33rd ASEAN Summit will be able to run optimally. We hope that Indonesia can play a strategic role in this matter. In the end, the ASEAN - Republic of Korea Summit will bring peace to the ASEAN region, the Korean Peninsula, including the international world.