The Korean official made the statement at a meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Phu Trong, in Hanoi on November 15.

Mr Hyong-O, who is on an official visit to Vietnam from November 14-18, said Vietnam boasts political stability and high security and social order, which inspires Korean investors to increase their business in the country.

The top RoK legislator affirmed that he will continue supporting Vietnam at bilateral and multilateral forums, especially when Vietnam assumes the ASEAN presidency and the RoK hosts the G20 summit in 2010.

For his part, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong thanked the RoK for giving Vietnam official development aid (ODA) and for having recognized Vietnam as a market economy.

Mr Hyung-O and Mr Trong agreed to further strengthen the exchange of visits by legislative delegations from the two countries and to promote bilateral cooperation in various fields.

Over the past 17 years, Vietnam-RoK trade revenues have increased by 20 times, and bilateral investment by tenfold.