S.Korea opens special summit with ASEAN to mark 30th anniversary of relations

BUSAN, South Korea - South Korea on Monday opened a special summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the country's southern port city of Busan.

The ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit would last through Tuesday to mark the 30th anniversary of their dialogue relations. The ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, an official name of South Korea.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in a keynote speech at the CEO Summit, attended by some 500 businessmen and government officials from the two sides, that the establishment of the dialogue relations 30 years ago and the launch of the free trade agreement (FTA) 12 years ago between the two sides was the outcome of a living exchange in the East Asian history.

The signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) would bring a new era of "Trade Network in East Asia," Moon said.

Fifteen out of the 16 RCEP participating countries concluded text-based negotiations and all market access issues earlier this month in Bangkok, Thailand with an aim to sign the mega free-trade pact in 2020.

Initiated in 2012, the RCEP brought together 10 member countries of the ASEAN and their six trade partners in the region, including China, South Korea, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand.

Moon proposed a three-point vision to create a "community growing together" with the Southeast Asian countries.

The vision includes people-centered inclusive cooperation, cooperation for win-win prosperity and innovative growth, and cooperation for strengthening connectivity.

Moon said peace on the Korean Peninsula would lead to peace in East Asia as the peninsula peace can be a starting point to connect the East Asian economy as one.

If challenges facing the peninsula's complete denuclearization and permanent peace settlement are overcome, East Asia could be reborn as one real community, Moon added.

The ASEAN is South Korea's second-biggest trading partner, with trade between the two sides reaching about $160 billion last year. South Korea is the fifth-largest trading partner for the ASEAN.