SEOUL, Nov. 12 ( Yonhap ) - South Korea is expected to sign this week with Russia an agreement on visa-free travel during the summit between Park Geun - hye and Vladimir Putin said Tuesday , the Office of President of Seoul.
Putin is scheduled to arrive in South Korea on Wednesday to meet with Park , in order to discuss , primarily , increased economic cooperation. After the meeting , officials from the two countries plan to sign the visa pact with the assistance of Park and Putin.
The pact will enable the peoples of the two countries stay without a visa in their respective territories for up to 60 days.
He had been scheduled to Putin , who come from Vietnam, came to Seoul on Tuesday night , but his itinerary was changed for unspecified reasons , officials said . The day trip also includes a business meeting and other events.
This is the second time that Park meets with Putin since he took office in February . In September, the two leaders met bilaterally on the sidelines of a meeting of the Group of 20 nations (G -20 ) held in the second largest city in Russia, St. Petersburg. At that meeting, the two leaders discussed economic cooperation , the North Korean nuclear crisis and the possibility of an ambitious project, which has been discussed for a long time, to link the railways of the two countries via North Korea.
Putin 's visit to Seoul will be the first by a leader of the "four powers " , which also includes the United States, Japan and China since taking office Park . The Russian president is also the sixth foreign leader to visit South Korea under Park Administration .
In Wednesday's talks are expected to Park and Putin discuss ways to improve bilateral relations , promote peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia, strengthening economic cooperation , and facilitate cultural exchanges and other type , said Park office , Cheong Wa Dae .
In particular , it is expected that key economic issues , including through increased cooperation in logistics , developing routes Arctic shipping and shipbuilding , the office said .
It is expected that another focus of Putin's visit is a project involving North Korea . Reports have said that South Korean companies plan to buy a stake in a joint venture between North Korea and Russia, created to develop the northeastern North Korean port of Rajin and the nearby Russian city of Khasan .
In September , North Korea and Russia reopened a railway of 54 miles Rajin and Khasan links , connecting the North Korean railway with Russia's Trans-Siberian Railway ( TSR , according to its acronym in English) . If you complete the ongoing project to modernize the port of Rajin , Russia can benefit from the rail link and port for export shipment .
South Korean companies can also use the train and port to export goods to Europe.
