Duterte flies back to PH after 2-day Asean, Korea summit

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Korean President Moon Jae-in witness the signing ceremony of several agreements after holding a bilateral talk on the sidelines of the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit in Busan, Monday. (Photo by Pathricia Roxas / INQUIRER.net)

BUSAN, South Korea — President Rodrigo Duterte left South Korea on Tuesday afternoon after participating in the two-day Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit in this port city 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

President Rodrigo Duterte left South Korea on Tuesday afternoon after participating in the two-day ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit in Busan. (Photos from PCOO) pic.twitter.com/k4HiVwItbE

— Path Roxas (@PathRoxasINQ) November 26, 2019

The President is expected to arrive in Manila at around 6:00 p.m. Tuesday.

During his first day in Busan, Duterte held a bilateral meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in where the two nations signed several agreements on social security, education, tourism and fisheries.

READ: PH, Korea ink deals on social security, tourism, education, fisheries

READ: No mention of South China Sea issue in Duterte-Moon talks

South Korea and the Philippines failed to sign their free-trade agreement, but the countries vowed to conclude the deal early next year, possibly during Moon’s state visit to the Philippines.

READ: PH, South Korea see conclusion of free trade deal by 2020

READ: Duterte asks Moon to visit PH in 2020 for possible signing of free-trade deal

On Tuesday, South Korea and Asean agreed to support complete denuclearization and permanent peace in the Korean peninsula as Moon asked them to constantly send a “unified message” to North Korea and the United States on the need for the early resumption of working-level denuclearization talks.

READ: South Korea, Asean agree to promote denuclearization, peace in Korean peninsula

The 30th Asean-ROK Commemorative Summit gathered from Monday to Tuesday leaders of the 10 Asean-member states to discuss three decades of partnership with Korea, as well as to tackle pressing issues.

The Asean member countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

/atm