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S Korea, Asean to work to boost two-way trade by over 50% by 2020

PM Lee says Asean-Korea ties present a good opportunity to take stock and consider ways to deepen relations

Lee U-Wen

Published Fri, Dec 12, 2014 · 09:50 PM

SOUTH Korea and the 10-member Asean have agreed to work together to boost two-way trade by more than 50 per cent to hit US$200 billion by 2020.

When Asean and Korea first established diplomatic ties in 1989, trade amounted to just US$8 billion. That number reached US$135.3 billion last year and is "well on its way" to hit US$150 billion in 2015.

Korean President Park Geun-hye and Asean leaders formally announced the new 2020 growth target in a joint statement at the end of their meeting in Busan on Friday.