President Moon Jae-in is in Brunei on this Monday, on a three-day state visit.
And during his first full day there... the president is meeting with the leader of Brunei.
For more on this, our presidential office correspondent Shin Se-min,.... who's traveling with the president.... is on the line for us.
Se-min, we're hearing the president is currently meeting with the Sultan of Brunei?
Right.
President Moon Jae-in, on his state visit to Brunei is currently sitting down with Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah,... where they are also believed to be signing a deal that will boost the economic and diplomatic relations between South Korea and Brunei.
The leaders are largely expected to focus on energy and construction-related cooperation,... on top of the already strong exchanges in such fields.
Korea's Daelim Industrial Co. is working on connecting two districts of the country with the Temburong Bridge,... and Brunei's crude oil and gas has supplied the energy for Seoul's economy over the years.
The two sides will also sign a Patent Cooperation Treaty,... simplifying the procedure in acquiring patents,... and will allow such patents to be recognized in 152 treaty powers.
So some large-scale cooperation between the two nations is expected to come out of the meeting today,... as part of the president's New Southern Policy.
Besides bilateral economic cooperation... what else can we expect from the president's visit to Brunei?
Apart from that--- South Korea is expected to play the host to a summit with the heads of state of all 10 ASEAN nations later this year,... a meeting that will also mark the 30th anniversary of the start of dialogue between Korea and ASEAN.
That the president is in Brunei as the first nation of his three-stop ASEAN tour also implies a sense of how crucial the country is in the president's New Southern Policy.
For one,... Brunei is a coordinator country for the Korea-ASEAN Dialogue Relations,... in other words, it serves as a window for dialogue between Korea and the 10 ASEAN members.
And while at it,... the visiting South Korean president is also expected to call for support for his drive for lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Jiyoon?
