President Yoon begins three-nation Southeast Asia trip

[Anchor]

President Yoon Suk-yeol has embarked on a visit to three Southeast Asian countries, including participation to the ASEAN Summit.

He has arrived in the Philippines, the first leg of his trip, and has begun his agenda.

President Yoon warned that if the North Korean balloon provocations pose a threat to the safety of the people, they will face an unbearable response.

Lee Hyun-jun reports.

[Report]

A state visit after 13 years.

After greeting Philippine government officials who welcomed him at the airport, President Yoon Suk-yeol visited the Korean War Veterans Memorial as his first agenda.

The key objectives of this three-nation Southeast Asia trip are economic territorial expansion and security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

He plans to establish a multi-layered cooperative relationship through multilateral meetings over his state visit to the Philippines, bilateral talks with the head of Singapore, and the ASEAN Summit.

[Park Chun-seop/Chief Economic Advisor to the President/On Oct. 3 : "We expect this to be an opportunity to further deepen and expand the Korea-ASEAN economic cooperation relationship."]

He is also expected to have his first meeting with the new Japanese Prime Minister, Ishiba Shigeru, who will attend the ASEAN Summit.

Meanwhile, in an interview with foreign media ahead of his trip, President Yoon strongly criticized the North Korean regime.

In particular, on Kim Jong-un's threat of a nuclear attack, he pointed out that claims of nuclear development to not be aimed at South Korea has been exposed as a lie.

Regarding the balloon provocations, he warned that if they pose a threat to the safety of the people, they will face an unbearable response.

After concluding his first day's schedule with a dinner meeting with compatriots, President Yoon will hold a summit with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos tomorrow.

The two leaders are expected to discuss cooperation in various fields, including infrastructure development, maritime security, nuclear power, and defense industry.

This is Lee Hyun-jun reporting from Manila, Philippines for KBS News.