Duterte to visit South Korea in June

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte will visit South Korea for the first time for a meeting with his counterpart in June, Seoul's Blue House said Friday.

According to a report from Reuters, Duterte will meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-In on June 4 to discuss measures to reinforce alliance and further improve ties.

Moon was among the heads of state who attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Manila last year.

During the ASEAN-South Korea Summit in November 2017, Moon expressed Seoul's readiness to further deepen ties with the 10-member regional bloc, including the Philippines.

The South Korean leader also held a bilateral meeting with Duterte at the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit.

Following their meeting in Manila, Duterte urged his South Korean counterpart to invest more in the Philippines.

Moon responded to Duterte's remarks by saying that the Philippines is "very special" to South Korea. He also welcomed the popularity of the "Korean Wave" in the Philippines.

Earlier this month, the Philippines signed a deal with South Korea that would enable the Duterte administration to borrow as much as $1 billion over the next five years.

“I welcome South Korea’s heightened engagement in the Philippines’ development as evident in this newly signed framework arrangement,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said. — Patricia Lourdes Viray