South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Sunday joined global condemnation against the Paris terrorist attacks with leaders participating in the annual summit of the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies in Turkey, vowing to take countermeasures against terrorism.
President Park Geun-hye is greeted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as she arrived at the venue for the Group of 20 summit in Antalya, Turkey, on Sunday. (Yonhap)
On the first day of the two-day summit, Park discussed ways to strengthen cooperation to eliminate the global threat of violent extremism as the event was taking place two days after a series of deadly attacks in Paris by the Islamic State group.
Leaders were to discuss how to coordinate policies for inclusive and robust growth in Antalya, a resort Turkish city near the Syrian border. But with the deadly attack in Paris sparking global anxiety, leaders called for an immediate and concerted effort to tackle terrorism and go after the terrorist networks stretched worldwide.
On the sidelines of the G20 summit, Park was to hold a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron to seek ways to expand economic cooperation, and bolster ties on regional security and on North Korea.
Before she left for Turkey, Park offered deep condolences over the deadly attacks in France that left at least 129 people dead.
“My people and I convey deep condolences,” Park said in a telegram of condolence.
“Terrorism is a crime against humanity. It is never justified and should not be tolerated in any circumstance,” Park said.
Park also said in the message to French President Francois Hollande that South Korea strongly supports French efforts to root out terrorism and vowed to join international antiterrorism efforts.
“The South Korean government will support France’s antiterrorism efforts and actively cooperate with the international community to curb terrorism,” she said.
The G20 summit was Park’s first leg of a 10-day tour. After Turkey, she plans to visit the Philippines and Malaysia for separate regional summits.
In the meetings, she is expected to meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, just a few weeks after they had their first-ever meeting Seoul in which they agreed to speed up talks on Korean women forced into sexual slavery during the World War II, within this year.
By Cho Chung-un and news reports (christory@heraldcorp.com)
