Canadian PM to visit for summit Tuesday

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will visit Seoul today for a summit with President Park Geun-hye, Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday. It will mark Harper’s fourth visit to Korea since his inauguration in early 2006. The two leaders had one-on-one talks in Bali, Indonesia last October on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference.

“Canada is our ally, which dispatched the third largest number of troops to Korea during the (1950-1953) Korean War, after the United States and the United Kingdom,” the presidential house said in a statement.

“During the summit on Tuesday, the two leaders will discuss ways of further improving their relationship through cooperation in such areas as investment, trades, energy, resources, science and technology.” Cheong Wa Dae said that the two sides will also talk about the political status of Northeast Asia in which tensions have recently increased due to nationalist remarks made by Japanese leaders and aggression from Pyongyang.

Park has yet to meet her Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe because he continues to make remarks which critics claim show a lack of contrition for Japan’s past misdeeds. During the summit with Harper, Park is expected to explain the current diplomatic impasse between Seoul and Tokyo to gain support from the Canadian leader.