South Korea and Chile will hold a summit in Seoul later Monday on elevating their relations to a new level, as they seek to cement cooperation on regional and international issues, presidential officials here said.
President Moon Jae-in is scheduled to greet his Chilean counterpart, Sebastian Pinera, at an official welcoming ceremony to be held at the presidential compound, Cheong Wa Dae.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in (L) shakes hands with his Chilean counterpart, Sebastian Pinera, during a New York meeting on Sept. 26, 2018, in this file photo.
The leaders will then have formal talks and a joint press briefing to announce the results of their discussions.
Pinera arrived here Sunday for a two-day state visit after attending the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing.
He's the first leader of a Latin American country to visit South Korea since the launch of the Moon administration.
"In the summit this time, (the two sides) plan to have wide-ranging discussions on partnerships in various fields, including substantive economic cooperation, as well as security conditions on the Korean Peninsula and Central and South America," said Yoon Do-han, Moon's senior secretary for public relations.
Chile is South Korea's first free trade agreement (FTA) partner. Signing the deal in 2004, then President Roh Moo-hyun traveled to Chile and forged a "comprehensive, cooperative" relationship between the two nations.
In talks with Pinera, Moon plans to talk about improving the bilateral relations, requesting Santiago's support for Seoul's efforts for denuclearization and a lasting peace on the peninsula.
They had one-on-one summit talks in New York last September on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly session.
The Chilean president made his previous trip to Seoul in 2012 for the Nuclear Security Summit.(Yonhap)