General Secretary To Lam and his spouse arrived at the Yongsan Presidential Office at 9:30 a.m. (local time). President Lee Jae Myung and his spouse greeted them at the arrival point, shaking hands before escorting them to the place of honor.

To underscore the significance of the visit, the host country arranged a military band performance and a 21-gun salute, accompanied by the national anthems of both Vietnam and the RoK. President Lee then invited General Secretary To Lam to inspect the guard of honor. The two leaders subsequently introduced members of their respective official delegations. At the ceremony, Korean children performed a song highlighting friendship, sentiment, and solidarity among children worldwide.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992, Vietnam and the RoK have continuously strengthened their close, mutually beneficial partnership in politics, economy, culture, and people-to-people exchanges.

Both nations maintain regular high-level and all-level delegation exchanges, promote alternating cooperative mechanisms, especially in politics, defense, and security, and sustain economic, trade, and investment cooperation as a key pillar of bilateral ties. The RoK is currently Vietnam’s largest foreign investor and third-largest trading partner, while Vietnam is a top-priority recipient of the RoK’s development assistance.

Cultural, educational, labor, tourism, and other cooperation areas have yielded significant results, expanding in both scale and quality.

In science, technology, and innovation, which are expected to become a new pillar of bilateral relations, have made notable progress with encouraging outcomes.

Labor cooperation and people-to-people exchanges continue to flourish, meeting the needs of both sides. Around 350,000 Vietnamese live in the RoK and more than 200,000 Koreans in Vietnam, including over 100,000 multicultural families. About 100 localities from both sides have established friendship exchange relations.

The two countries also enhance strategic coordination at regional and international forums in dealing with issues of shared concern as a contribution to peace, stability, and common development in the region and beyond.

The General Secretary’s state visit to the RoK indicates Vietnam’s consistent foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification, and multilateralization of external relations, along with proactive and active international integration. It is also seen as a key diplomatic activity aimed at speeding up the implementation of the Politburo’s Resolution No. 59 on international integration in the new context.

Top Vietnamese leader’s visit opens new chapter for bilateral ties: RoK President

The state visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK) by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam and his spouse from August 10-13 will contribute to further strengthening political trust, while marking an important milestone, opening a new chapter for the two countries’ relationship, according to RoK President Lee Jae-myung.