Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan hailed Friday the progress made by both South Korea and Myanmar in improving bilateral relations, saying he believes that ties with the Southeast Asian country “have been strengthened almost every day.”

Kim made the remarks as he held talks with his Myanmarese counterpart Wanna Maung Lwin, who is on a four-day visit to South Korea. Following a landmark visit by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to Myanmar in May and summit talks with President Thein Sein, how to promote bilateral ties topped the agenda of the Friday talks.

“I am very glad to see that since my president visited your country, our relations have been strengthened almost every day in all fields,” Kim told the Myanmarese foreign minister. 

“There is a lot of potential to make further progress in our bilateral relations,” Kim said. “Taking this opportunity, I think your visit will be another move toward strengthening our bilateral relations.”

It is the first time that a top diplomat from Myanmar has visited South Korea since 1999, ministry officials said.

South Korea and Mynamar are seeking to improve ties after the Southeast Asian country emerged from international isolation with sweeping democratic reforms last year.

Wunna Maung Lwin called President Lee’s visit to his country a “milestone” in improving ties with South Korea.

“I think that kind of high-level exchange will further enhance our bilateral relations,” he said.

The two ministers “discussed ways to promote bilateral cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, development of resources, infrastructure and people-to-people exchange,” a ministry official said on the condition of anonymity. (Yonhap News)