President Lee Jae Myung left Turkey on Wednesday (local time) bound for Mongolia, the second stop on his ongoing overseas tour.
Lee held bilateral talks with the leaders of Ukraine, Romania and several other countries in Ankara through the afternoon before heading directly to the airport and boarding the presidential aircraft for Ulaanbaatar.
He is scheduled to arrive in Mongolia on Thursday morning (local time) and immediately begin his state visit program.
Mongolia has repeatedly requested a presidential visit since Lee took office. The trip marks the first state visit to Mongolia by a South Korean head of state in 15 years, since the Lee Myung-bak administration in 2011.
Lee will attend an official welcoming ceremony before holding a summit with President Khurelsukh. The two leaders plan to announce a "golden era of Korea-Mongolia relations" through an agreement and memorandum of understanding signing ceremony and a joint press statement.
Lee will also deliver a keynote address at the Korea-Mongolia Business Forum, where government and business representatives from both countries will gather to discuss mutually beneficial economic cooperation.
On Friday, Lee will visit the memorial hall of independence activist Lee Tae-jun before sitting down for a luncheon with the Korean community in Mongolia. He will then hold separate meetings with National Assembly Speaker Byambatsogt and Prime Minister Oyunerdene, followed by a state dinner hosted by the president. On Saturday, Lee will join President Khurelsukh as a guest of honor at the opening ceremony of Naadam, Mongolia's largest national festival, bringing the tour to a close.
Meanwhile, Mongolia was the second country after the Soviet Union to establish diplomatic ties with North Korea and has maintained friendly relations with Pyongyang. Lee is expected to explore ways to use the visit as an opportunity to create conditions for resuming dialogue with the North.
sang@heraldcorp.com
