RoK official: ASEAN+3 meeting to pool determination for COVID-19 fight

At a hospital in Daegu, RoK (Photo: Yonhap)  

Seoul (VNA) – Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs of the Republic of Korea Gunn Kim has said the online ASEAN+3 meeting, scheduled for April 14, will pool political determination of leaders to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the meeting, leaders of the ASEAN member states together with China, the Republic of Korea and Japan will discuss ways to overcome the pandemic and mitigate its harmful impact on regional socio-economic development.

In a recent interview granted to Vietnam News Agency in Seoul, Kim said even when a country successfully contains the pandemic, it is still likely to break out again due to external sources, which is faced by the RoK at present.

According to him, RoK President Moon Jae-in will focus on three main points at the event, including enhancing medical cooperation to ensure that ASEAN and the RoK, Japan and China will become safer, mitigating the toll on the socio-economic aspect in each country, and responding to problems arising from the pandemic.

Concluding the event, leaders will offer ideas to cope with the pandemic.

About preparations for the event, Kim said it is an unprecedented crisis and when countries proposed holding the meeting, Vietnam answered quickly and prepared for its timely gathering. The nation also played a major role in drafting the joint statement following the event.

Expressing thanks to Vietnam which is playing the role of the ASEAN Chair 2020, Kim said he believes that the first online ASEAN+3 meeting will be a success./.