S. Korea to adopt action plan on closer ties with ASEAN at regional meeting, U.S. tariff talks to loom large

In Malaysia this week.

Diplomatic delegations including from South Korea are gathered there for the broader ASEAN-related meetings on regional peace and prosperity.

Our foreign affairs correspondent Oh Soo-young has more.

South Korea is set to adopt a new action plan on cooperating with Southeast Asian countries, at this week's series of high-level meetings in Kuala Lumpur.

According to Seoul's foreign ministry, South Korea is joining the annual ASEAN-related Foreign Minister Meetings on Thursday and Friday, as a dialogue partner country to the 10-member regional bloc.

During a meeting between Seoul and ASEAN, the two sides will adopt a Plan of Action laying out concrete steps to implement the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership reached upon their 35th anniversary of dialogue relations last year.

They're expected to focus on deepening security, economic, and cultural cooperation.

First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo is leading the delegation as the new Foreign Minister-nominee Cho Hyun has not been officially confirmed by parliament.

Park will also attend the ministerial meeting of ASEAN and +3 nations including Korea, Japan, and China, a separate meeting with Mekong countries, the East Asia Summit, and the ASEAN Regional Forum.

Concerns over tariffs and regional tensions are expected to dominate most discussions, as the United States this week sent letters to fourteen countries, threatening to initiate the so-called reciprocal tariffs by August first.

If no deal is reached, the Trump Administration says it will impose 25 percent duties on South Korea, Japan, and Malaysia, 32 percent on Indonesia,.. 36 percent on Cambodia and Thailand, and 40 percent on Laos and Myanmar.

In a draft communique revealed to AFP, ASEAN nations warn that unilateral tariff actions are destabilizing economic recovery and deepening global divisions.

Arriving Thursday for his first Asia trip since taking office, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to defend America's push to rebalance trade relationships, according to officials in Washington.

The attendance of Chinese and Russian foreign ministers Wang Yi and Sergey Lavrov is also drawing attention, amid their shaky relations with the U.S..

Beyond tariffs, ministers will address rising tensions on the Thailand–Cambodia border, the ongoing civil war in Myanmar, and territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Meanwhile, South Korea is expected to reiterate its support for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and emphasize ASEAN's role in coordinated regional diplomacy.

ASEAN's annual meeting of foreign ministers is the only multilateral forum North Korea has attended in the region.

However, there's a chance Pyongyang will skip this year's meeting, given its severed diplomatic ties with the host country, Malaysia.

Oh Soo-young, Arirang News.