South Korea's president meets Marcos

MANILA, Philippines –Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday welcomed South Korea President Yoon Seuk Yol in Malacañang.

«Your Excellency's visit is a fitting activity to mark this important milestone,» the chief executive said, pointing out that Filipino-Korean ties were «forged in blood» when the Philippines came to the aid of South Korea when the Korean war broke out in 1950.

«Our bonds have continued to grow since then. Today, we have a robust partnership in a myriad of fields of cooperation, including defense and security, maritime cooperation, trade, development, and people-to-people exchanges. From here, there is nowhere else to go but up,» Marcos added.

Yoon said he is looking forward to a «fruitful discussion on ways to take great strides in» various areas of cooperation for both countries.

He said his visit is an «opportunity to not only further enhance our trade and economic cooperation but also widen the scope of our partnership to include future-oriented sectors such as security, digital technology, and energy.»

The Philippines is Yoon's first stop in his six-day Southeast Asian swing which will conclude in his and also Marcos' participation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Laos later this week.