Park preps for series of global talks

President Park Geun-hye will embark Saturday on a ten-day tour to attend a series of international meetings in Turkey, the Philippines and Malaysia as part of efforts to bolster multilateral diplomacy.

The president will head first to Antalya in southwestern Turkey to attend the Group of 20 Summit on Nov. 15 and 16, the Blue House said Sunday. She will then head to Manila on Nov. 17 for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit scheduled for Nov. 18 and 19.

The final leg of Park’s trip will take her to Kuala Lumpur for the East Asian Summit, held from Nov. 21 and 22, where she will also attend a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, plus three (ASEAN+3) - which involves China, Japan and South Korea on Nov. 21.

Whom Park talks with on the sidelines of these summits will be of particular importance to observers. The meetings will be attended by a number of world leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is also set to attend the G-20, APEC and ASEAN+3 meetings, which has added to speculation that Park and Abe may hold additional talks following their first bilateral summit in Seoul at the beginning of this month. The president will return to Seoul on Nov. 23.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]