DFA: Korean president in PHL for state visit Nov. 20-22

Korean President Lee Myung-bak will be in the Philippines for a state visit from November 20 to 22 after being invited to the country by President Benigno Aquino III. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Lee is expected to discuss with Aquino ways to further enhance the "rapidly growing relations" between their countries. "President Lee's visit comes at an important point in the 62-year-long history of Philippine-ROK (Republic of Korea) bilateral relations, which was formally established in 1949," the DFA said in a news release. Aquino will host a state dinner in honor of the visiting head of state. Both leaders are also expected to take up recent developments and the future direction of relations between Korea and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), where the Philippines is a member. While in the Philippines, Lee will also attend the Korea-Philippines Business Forum organized by the Philippine and Korean Chambers of Commerce and Industry. He will participate in a Town Hall meeting, where he will interact and hold dialogue with the students and faculty of the Ateneo de Manila University. Tourism In the past several years, the ROK has consistently been the top source of foreign tourists to the Philippines, the DFA said. Last year, the DFA said the number of Korean tourists in the Philippines reached 740,000, accounting for 21 percent of all foreign tourists in 2010. Korea also counts among the Philippines' leading trade, investment and development partners, particularly in the fields of agriculture and infrastructure. Philippine-Korean friendship was reinforced by the deployment of the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea (PEFTOK) in September 1950. The PEFTOK joined the United States-led 16-nation coalition in defending the ROK against the communist Democratic People's Republic of Korea. - VVP, GMA News