South Korea to host ASEAN special summit

Seoul, July 15 (IANS) South Korean President Park Geun-hye will host a special summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in December in Busan, the president's office the Blue House said Tuesday.

The two-day special summit will be held Dec 11-12 to mark the 25th anniversary of a dialogue between South Korea and ASEAN in 1989, Xinhua quoted the presidential office as saying.

The Southeast Asian bloc comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.

ASEAN became South Korea's second-biggest trade partner, and the second-largest destination for overseas investment.

Trade between the two sides reached $134.3 billion in 2013.

South Korea received construction orders worth $14.3 billion from the ASEAN members.

The president's office said the special summit would further strengthen the South Korea-ASEAN strategic partnership.

The two sides signed a free trade pact in 2009, and upgraded their relations to a strategic partnership a year later.