President in Indonesia

[Anchor Lead]

President Moon Jae-in departed for an eight-day Southeast Asia tour on Wednesday afternoon just after U.S. President Donald Trump's departure from Korea. On Thursday, President Moon will have summit talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo. The Moon administration says it is poised to diversify Korean diplomatic relations to include the Southeast Asian region rather than focus on its major partners.

[Pkg]

Upon their arrival at an airport in Jakarta on Wednesday evening local time, President Moon and First Lady Kim Jung-sook receive a welcome from the guards of honor. President Moon began his visit to Indonesia by having dinner with local Koreans. He vowed to use this tour to expand Korea's diplomatic horizons by promoting economic cooperation with ASEAN countries.

[Soundbite] Pres. Moon Jae-in : "I will promote exchanges and cooperation with ASEAN countries including Indonesia to the level of Korea's relations with its four major partners."

On Thursday, President Moon will have summit talks with his Indonesian counterpart, Joko Widodo, to discuss cooperation in solving the North Korea nuclear crisis and promoting bilateral cooperation in the national defense and economic sectors. At the Korea-Indonesia business forum, which will be attended by businesspeople from both nations, the president will introduce his "New Southern Policy" aimed at exploring new markets in the ASEAN region, Mekong countries and India. In the evening, President Moon will attend a state dinner hosted by the Indonesian leader at the presidential palace. On Friday, the South Korean leader will leave for Danang, Vietnam. In Danang, President Moon will hold a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit. Moon will seek to normalize the bilateral ties between Korea and China, which have been strained since Korea decided to deploy the U.S. THAAD missile defense system on the Korean Peninsula.