Malaysia, South Korea pledge cooperation on development, call for peace on Korean Peninsula

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in here on Wednesday as the two leaders pledged cooperation on a range of issues.

At a press conference after the meeting, the two leaders said they had discussed several topics of mutual interest, including cooperation in industry and the importance of peace on the Korean Peninsula, and issues between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Mahathir said both he and Moon hoped that the relationship would improve between the DPRK and South Korea, and that an agreement would be reached between the United States and the DPRK on the disarmament.

"We expect to see peace and stability in this part of the world," Mahathir said.

U.S. President Donald Trump and DPRK top leader Kim Jong Un held their second summit in Hanoi, Vietnam on Feb. 27-28, without reaching an agreement.

The Malaysian prime minister added that Malaysia and South Korea signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) on industrial cooperation, transportation, infrastructure development and cooperation in the halal food industry.

For his part, Moon stressed the bilateral cooperation on the economic front, with an emphasis of development of South Korea's halal food industry.

"Today Prime Minister Mahathir and I reaffirmed our respective government's philosophies and future vision and shared the spirit of coexistence and tolerance," he said.

"Mahathir has laid the foundation of our cooperation through the Look East policy. My government is also actively implementing the New Southern Policy, in order to elevate and further develop relations between ASEAN countries including Malaysia," Moon said.