(2nd LD) S. Korean president arrives in UAE for summit with Crown Prince

All News 22:41 March 24, 2018

(ATTN: INSERTTS 3rd para to highlight President Moon's visit to the Grand Mosque; ADDS photo)

ABU DHABI, March 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Saturday for a summit with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and talks with other UAE leaders on ways to improve the countries' relationship.

Moon's official visit to the UAE followed his three-day state visit to Vietnam, which ended earlier in the day in Hanoi.

His four-day trip to the UAE began with a visit to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, apparently to show his respect to the first UAE president, Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his wife, Kim Jung-sook, visit the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi on March 24, 2018. (Yonhap)

The South Korean leader is set to hold a bilateral summit with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan on Sunday.

This is Moon's first official visit to the UAE since he took office in May 2017.

Moon has refused to disclose details of any pending issues with the UAE, but earlier reports suggested Seoul's former Lee Myung-bak administration may have entered unauthorized, if not illicit, agreements with the Middle Eastern country in exchange for the US$18.6 billion deal to build four nuclear power reactors in Barakah, the UAE.

Moon said his administration will work to revise the agreements, especially if they could jeopardize the safety or lives of South Korean people.

Moon is accompanied by chief of staff Im Jong-seok, who met the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi during an apparent fence-mending mission there late last year as Moon's special envoy. Moon's visit will end Tuesday in Dubai, where the South Korean president is set to hold talks with Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai and prime minister of UAE, according to his office Cheong Wa Dae.

bdk@yna.co.kr
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