President Vo Van Thuong and President Yoon Suk Yeol are welcomed by Hanoi’s children. (Photo: Thong Nhat/VN)

Presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon said the visit is considered the start of a new 30-year period in the bilateral ties between the RoK and Vietnam.  The two leaders will discuss ways to expand and develop bilateral relations, which were upgraded to comprehensive strategic partnership at the end of last year.

President Yoon had chosen Vietnam, RoK’s third-largest trading partner, as his first leg in ASEAN to visit and taken it as a milestone in consolidating Korea’s policies and improving the cooperation level in economics, supply chain, security, and culture.

The Yonhap news agency, KBS, and major newspapers including Joongang Ilbo and Chosun Ilbo highlighted Mr. Yoon’s visit accompanied by a crowd of economic groups and Vietnam’s role as South Korea’s most important production hub and trade market in Southeast Asia. The economic delegation is the biggest delegation accompanying President Yoon Suk Yeol since he took office last May.

Professor Choe Won-gi, head of the Centre for ASEAN-India Studies at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA), said that the visit is very important because Vietnam is the first Southeast Asian country that President Yoon has visited since he took office last year.

Looking from the strategic perspective, the RoK and Vietnam have a very high level of strategic conversions, a lot of shared interests in economy and security, even socio-economic areas.