Yoon is set to deliver a speech at the first session of the summit among Pacific Lim countries in Lima on Friday as the incoming chair of next year's APEC summit. The historic city of Gyeongju in the southeastern province was selected to host the summit in 2025.
On the sidelines of the summit, Yoon will hold a trilateral meeting with the U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. He is also expected to have a series of meetings with other Asian leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping.
After wrapping up the summit on Sunday, he will fly to Rio de Janeiro for the G20 summit slated for next Monday and Tuesday.
Among the agendas of the summit is North Korea's recent troop deployment to Russia.
At his meeting with NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte in Brussels the previous day, U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said, "We have to do more to make sure that Ukraine can stay in the fight and is able to roll back as much as possible the Russian onslaught and prevent [Russian President Vladimir] Putin from being successful in Ukraine."
Putin "has to pay for this and he is paying for this by technology, for example missile technology going to North Korea, and that is presenting a threat not only to the European side of NATO but also to the U.S. mainland, to South Korea, to Japan. And it is not – not just North Korea being active. We know for some time that China through sanctions circumvention, through dual-use goods being delivered into Russia, is helping the war effort," he added.
But it remains to be seen if Washington's "firm" resolve can remain intact as President-elect Donald Trump, who is expected to seek a quick deal to end the war in Ukraine, prepares for his second term, beginning in January.
There is speculation about a possible meeting between Yoon and Trump during the summit, according to an official from the presidential office. Otherwise, Yoon is scheduled to return to Seoul next Thursday.
Meanwhile, first lady Kim Keon Hee did not accompany her husband on his trip this time, amid several scandals including her alleged involvement in candidate nominations ahead of the general elections last April.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.
