With a legacy of being on the opposite ends of the Vietnam War between 1964 to 1975, South Korea and Vietnam’s progression of relationship towards a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership”, has been remarkable. The pace of their cooperation especially in the economic sphere, ever since the establishment of formal diplomatic ties in 1992, illustrates how countries with a history of differing principles can often bridge divides if their needs are mutually converging. However, the same cannot be said of all the countries that have divergences in principles and a shared history of conflict. This paper will therefore share an outlook on the factors and characteristics in the policy-making processes that led to the deepening of ties between Seoul and Hanoi.
To announce the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between South Korea and Vietnam, the two countries elevated their relationship to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” on 18th October 2022.[i] The upgradation of the bilateral relationship was publicised during the two-day visit of the South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin to Vietnam at the invitation of his counterpart Bui Thanh Son.[ii] The two sides have decided to officially declare the upgradation of ties in a future bilateral Summit. As the official date of establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries was 22nd December 1992, the bilateral Summit is expected close to 22nd December 2022 to formally mark the 30th anniversary.
The designation of “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” is of the highest priority in Vietnam’s foreign policy relations, formerly accorded to Russia, China and India alone.[iii] South Korea has now entered into this significant level of partnership with Vietnam. The paper will delve into how the partnership has been determined and whether the elevation towards a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” by Seoul and Hanoi accommodates means for tackling the current geopolitics.
Establishment of Diplomatic Relations
As the history of the Vietnam War discloses, South Korea and Vietnam ties did not start on the right note. South Korea being an ally of the United States (US) had actively participated in the Vietnam War supporting the then South Vietnam against North Vietnam.[iv] It was only after the end of the Cold War that South Korea and Vietnam decided to normalise relations with the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1992. Since then, bilateral relations have progressed tremendously.
The step towards normalisation of ties arrived gradually with Vietnam having adopted its revered national policy of Doi Moi in 1986 for political and economic reforms. Under Doi Moi, Vietnam decided to remove itself from the self-isolation imposed after the unification of the country in 1975 and commit towards becoming friendly with all countries. South Korea also pursued its own policy of outreach soon after. Seoul had decided upon normalising diplomatic relations with northern socialist countries such as the Soviet Union, China and North Korea through a set of policy efforts encapsulated as the Northern policy - Nordpolitik or pukbang jongch’aek in Korean, during July of 1988.[v]
Seoul was hoping that the Soviet Union and China would assist in inducing North Korea to open up and improve inter-Korean relations in the long run. The idea of establishing diplomatic relations with the socialist countries in order to develop better relations with Pyongyang also led South Korea to focus on Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, the northern part of Vietnam and North Korea were allies. Pyongyang is claimed to have even sent 200 fighter pilots[vi] to support the North during the Vietnam War against the US-backed South Vietnam.[vii] Afterwards when Vietnam was unified, Hanoi provided food aid to Pyongyang, especially during the period of massive famine in North Korea from 1994 to 1998.
As such, it became more ideal for South Korea to pursue diplomatic relations with Vietnam since Hanoi had been maintaining regular exchanges and contacts with North Korea. Therefore, the diplomatic relations between South Korea and Vietnam commenced. The normalisation of ties coincided with their shared aim of promoting economic growth, trade, investment and pursuit of geopolitics through establishing diversified, cooperative external relations in a post-Cold War era. The two countries had decided to put historical issues aside and cooperate for the sake of the future.
Comprehensive Partnership (2001) and Strategic Cooperative Partnership (2009)
As the years passed, South Korea and Vietnam witnessed an unprecedented pace of normalisation, despite the intricate legacy of the Vietnam war. The development of relations was further augmented in August 2001, when Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong visited South Korea, resulting in the enhancement of bilateral relations to a “Comprehensive Partnership”. Eventually, in 2009, the partnership was additionally upgraded to a “Strategic Cooperative Partnership” during South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s state visit to Vietnam.[viii] The South Korean President with his counterpart Nguyen Minh Triet held a Summit in October of 2009, where they agreed on upgrading ties to a “Strategic Cooperative Partnership” to broaden the relationship beyond the economy to all areas including diplomacy and security ties.[ix] The two countries had also announced launching of annual vice minister-level strategic dialogue and boost defence industry and cooperation.[x] This marked a major milestone in bilateral relations, wherein two countries marred with historical differences bloomed into strategic partners within a span of 20 years. It is important to acknowledge that Seoul and Hanoi had difficulties in resolving their historical legacies during the normalisation process. However, it has been analysed by experts and scholars that South Korea and Vietnam driven by mutual economic needs were able to rapidly expand their bilateral cooperative relations.[xi] Furthermore, South Korea was expecting that Vietnam’s close relations with North Korea would help inspire Pyongyang’s own economic and polity reforms.[xii]
In order to understand the exemplary upgradation of ties from “Comprehensive Partnership” to “Strategic Cooperative Partnership” from 2001 to 2009, and now towards a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership”, it is ideal to have a cursory glance at the expansion of their economic cooperation. This is primarily because both countries pursued the “promotion of economic development through mutual economic cooperation by the normalisation of relations.”[xiii] In 1992, South Korea’s total trade with Vietnam, as per the World Bank database began at a modest US$ 493,491.[xiv] However, it was noted in a study that there was a remarkable rate at which the trade intensity of exports from South Korea to Vietnam increased between 1993 to 2010.[xv] As per the same study, it has been deducted that the South Korean exports to Vietnam were growing much higher than the rest of the world during the aforementioned period.
Table 1: Bilateral trade between the Republic of Korea and Vietnam, 2001 to 2021
Year |
Republic of Korea's Exports to Vietnam (US$ Thousand) |
Republic of Korea's Imports from Vietnam (US$ Thousand) |
Total trade (US$ Thousand) |
Rate of Growth % |
|
2001 |
1731557 |
385779 |
2117336 |
5.420811 |
|
2002 |
2240187 |
470309 |
2710496 |
28.014448 |
|
2003 |
2561234 |
510700 |
3071934 |
13.334755 |
|
2004 |
3255574 |
673300 |
3928874 |
27.895782 |
|
2005 |
3431654 |
694043 |
4125697 |
5.0096542 |
|
2006 |
3927476 |
924856 |
4852332 |
17.612418 |
|
2007 |
5760054 |
1391588 |
7151642 |
47.385669 |
|
2008 |
7804807 |
2037075 |
9841882 |
37.617095 |
|
2009 |
7149477 |
2369970 |
9519447 |
-3.2761519 |
|
2010 |
9652073 |
3330815 |
12982888 |
36.382796 |
|
2011 |
13464922 |
5084246 |
18549168 |
42.873974 |
|
2012 |
15945972 |
5719246 |
21665218 |
16.798867 |
|
2013 |
21087589 |
7170311 |
28257900 |
30.429798 |
|
2014 |
22332858 |
7988701 |
30321559 |
7.3029454 |
|
2015 |
27773261 |
9802740 |
37576001 |
23.92503 |
|
2016 |
32650609 |
12495050 |
45145659 |
20.144927 |
|
2017 |
47749153 |
16176130 |
63925283 |
41.597851 |
|
2018 |
48628513 |
19631653 |
68260166 |
6.7811714 |
|
2019 |
48177684 |
21071447 |
69249131 |
1.4488172 |
|
2020 |
48542972 |
20578653 |
69121625 |
-0.1841265 |
|
2021 |
56729065 |
23965702 |
80694767 |
16.743157 |
Sources: ITC calculations based on Korea Customs and Trade Development Institute (KCTDI) statistics since January, 2013. ITC calculations based on UN COMTRADE statistics until January, 2013.
Trade data from the UN COMTRADE Statistics in Table 1 reveals that the average annual growth in bilateral trade from 2001 to 2008 between South Korea and Vietnam was 20-22 per cent.[xvi] Correspondingly, the World Bank data suggests that in the year 2000 their bilateral trade had reached US$ 2.01 million from the earlier modest US$ 493,491 in 1992, approximately threefold increase.[xvii] Whereas in 2008 it reached US$ 9.8 million,[xviii] showcasing more than fourfold increase in a span of 8 years. South Korea maintained itself as one of the top three trading partners of Vietnam during 2001-2008, just behind China and Japan.[xix]
The pursuit of promoting development through mutual economic cooperation was a shared belief between South Korea and Vietnam. Hanoi required development experience along with capital in order to promote economic growth, which was complemented by Seoul’s requirement for diversifying external economic cooperation via its Northern Policy for building diplomatic ties with the socialist countries. South Korea’s strategic and economic interests had aligned with that of Vietnam. Moreover, there was only an ideological dispute and no direct bilateral dispute or conflict between Seoul and Hanoi, as it continues to be in the case of Seoul and Pyongyang. Hence, trade has been a useful route to bring South Korea and Vietnam together. Otherwise, economics leading to adjustments is not possible in all cases. Additionally, South Korea required low labour costs for its labour-intensive industries, and Vietnam provided the resources it lacked. The situation demanded that the two countries would overcome the legacy of the War in Vietnam, as a consequence of which bilateral relations after 1992 witnessed an unprecedented deepening of ties towards a “strategic partnership” in 2009. However, the upgradation in 2009 did not yield the desired traditional security-based strategic cooperation mechanisms. With many of the agreed defence activities becoming infrequent and inconsistent, the defence cooperation between the two countries could not be institutionalised and remained limited.[xx]
As the bilateral relations strengthened through economic interdependence, it was elevated to a strategic partnership in 2009 with the aim of working together on shared geopolitical concerns. However, the two countries focussed on areas adrift from hard security matters. It should be noted that apart from the ROK-Vietnam Annual Defence Policy Dialogue initiated in 2012, there has not been much significant development in institutionalising defence cooperation. The Joint Statement during the 2011 State visit of Vietnam’s President Truong Tan Sang to South Korea [xxi], as well as the 2012 visit of Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to South Korea,[xxii] also focussed primarily on closer linkages of economics, trade, investment and cooperation in nuclear energy development. Therefore, the concept of strategic cooperation was being enveloped with non-traditional security measures perhaps due to the strategic dilemma of not complicating the intensifying US-China competition.
New Southern Policy (2017) and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2022)
Post-2010, South Korea and Vietnam showcased a remarkable upswing in bilateral relations, specifically based on trade and investment. In 2011, the two governments had even agreed upon efforts to fulfil the target of US$ 20 billion in bilateral trade by 2015. Notably, if we see Table 1, the target was achieved by 2012 itself, and by 2015 Seoul and Hanoi were trading close to US$ 40 billion. It should be noted that South Korea and Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (FTA) came into force only in 2015, which further bolstered their bilateral trade relationship. The FTA also eased up investment requirements from South Korea and opened up several sectors for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Vietnam. By 2016, South Korea had become the largest foreign investor in Vietnam with a cumulative FDI of US$ 50.7 billion, compared to US$ 42.1 billion for Japan.[xxiii] Currently, South Korea is one of the biggest contributors to Vietnam’s FDI inflows with a value of around US$ 80.5 billion in 9,400 projects till September 2022.[xxiv]
Vietnam became established as the hub of South Korea’s trade and investment, and it offered an opportunity for Seoul to enter the rest of the ASEAN market. This proposal became more imperative after the economic retaliation of the travel ban by Beijing in 2016 and 2017, due to the deployment of the US-operated THAAD missile defence system in South Korea.[xxv] It was estimated that South Korea suffered a loss of 7.5 trillion Won or US$ 6.8 billion due to Beijing’s brief ban on tourism to South Korea.[xxvi] Seoul then took action for diversifying its economic relations towards other countries in ASEAN and India. In 2017, the South Korean government under President Moon Jae-in, therefore, introduced the New Southern Policy (NSP). The NSP had three pillars – “Peace, People and Prosperity”, which aimed to elevate economic and diplomatic linkages with ASEAN countries and India to the level of the United States, China, Japan and Russia. The NSP was later enhanced and relaunched as the New Southern Policy Plus (NSP Plus) in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and it, therefore, encompassed additional policies that promoted healthcare infrastructure investments.[xxvii] Vietnam was even affirmed as the centrepiece of the NSP, during a teleconference held on 28th April 2021.[xxviii]
Vietnam served as the economic pillar of the NSP and was a strong supporter of the Peace and Prosperity pillar as well. When the pandemic hit many countries in economic terms, Seoul and Hanoi’s bilateral trade was still able to reach US$ 80 billion by 2021 (see Table 1). Such positive development resulted in the two countries aspiring to attain the target of US$ 100 billion by 2023,[xxix] and US$ 150 billion by 2030.[xxx] However, since the introduction of Yoon Suk-yeol as the new President of South Korea in 2022, the focus on NSP has been seemingly reduced under the new administration in South Korea. The latest development does not mean that Vietnam has lowered on the radar of South Korea. This is amply supported by the fact that many South Korean companies such as LS Electric and Samsung are continuing to heavily pour investments into Vietnam.[xxxi]
It is evident that South Korea and Vietnam’s relations since 1992 has been driven primarily through mutual economic needs. The upgradation of ties in 2009 towards a “Strategic Cooperative Partnership” showed the first signs of interest towards other facets of the bilateral relations aside from economy, between the two countries. However, the progress has been slow with regard to defence cooperation. In 2018, a year after the NSP was announced wherein Vietnam served as an important pillar of the policy, the two countries adopted a joint vision on defence cooperation to improve partnership in the defence sector.[xxxii] This “joint vision statement on defence cooperation through 2030”, is expected to contribute towards defence relations in a deeper and more practical manner.[xxxiii] In the latest development, the elevation of the bilateral relations to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” announced on 18th October 2022 further proves the greater importance accorded to the bilateral ties. However, with the formal joint statement on the elevation of ties to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” still to be issued in a future bilateral summit, it remains to be seen whether the upgradation will build upon aspects of the defence cooperation vision statement signed in 2018 to tackle the rapidly changing geopolitics.
With Vietnam being most particular about its foreign policy system of categorising relations, and South Korea being the latest entrant to that distinctive group of comprehensive strategic partners, it is clear that Seoul will be long appreciated for its decades of developmental contributions to Hanoi. In retrospect of the economic strides between the two countries, the elevation of ties with South Korea to the highest categorisation of relations also indicates that Hanoi prefers Seoul to continue prioritising Vietnam as an attractive investment destination for maintaining and expanding its business operations. The upgradation of bilateral relations to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” is also in keeping pace with the two countries’ target to fully realise the “Dual Goals”, which aims at the milestone of US$ 100 billion in bilateral trade and total accumulated investment in the next one or two years[xxxiv], in addition to enhanced political, defence and security ties.
Way Forward
It is noteworthy that South Korea and Vietnam were able to achieve a significant deepening of ties within a span of 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992. The relations built between the two countries were based on mutually converging needs of economic growth, which also helped in normalisation after the Vietnam War. The pace of growth in bilateral relations did result in aspirations of collaborating on the strategic facets, as observed through the “Strategic Cooperative Partnership” in 2009 and the recently announced “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” in 2022. However, the strategic component has largely encompassed cordial matters such as high-level visits, exchanges, dialogues and mutual UN peacekeeping operations. The two countries signed a joint vision statement on defence cooperation on 24th April 2018, which focussed on enhancing coordination at multilateral defence and military forums.[xxxv] Correspondingly, the two countries have been regularly exchanging views regarding maritime and aviation security cooperation in their annual senior-level defence dialogues, but the institutionalisation of bilateral defence exercises has not proceeded as anticipated since the first meeting in 2012.
In light of the current international situation in Ukraine and the long-contested territorial issues in the South China Sea region threatening the freedom of navigation in the open seas, the two sides need to prioritise the strengthening of bilateral defence ties. Additionally, due to Vietnam’s close relations with North Korea, Seoul requires Hanoi’s unwavering support in the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula to achieve peace and prosperity.
South Korea and Vietnam are also two nations with which India enjoys a “Special Strategic Partnership” and a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership”, respectively. Therefore, the upgradation of ties between South Korea and Vietnam towards a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” is also an interesting development for India as it shares commonalities with the two countries. The upgradation of ties could even open a new stage of cooperation where South Korea, Vietnam and India bolster their security-defence relations.
It needs to be seen whether Seoul and Hanoi would be able to take a more autonomous approach, independent of the US-China complications, towards strengthening their strategic relations in terms of defence cooperation. On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the elevation of ties to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership”, South Korea and Vietnam still need to match their pledge of promoting security cooperation. In doing so, they will be able to circumnavigate the US-China strategic dilemma, which will be essential as the two countries aim to play a larger role in promoting regional stability and supporting the regional order.
*****
*Dr. Tunchinmang Langel, Research Fellow, Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi
Disclaimer: Views Expressed are personal.
Endnotes
[i] The Korea Times, 2022, “S. Korea, Vietnam agree to elevate ties to 'comprehensive strategic partnership',” 18 October 2022, https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2022/10/113_338141.html, Accessed on 21 October 202
[ii] Ibi
[iii] Korea JoongAng Daily, 2022, Korea and Vietnam upgrade their diplomatic relations,” 19 October 2022, https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/10/19/national/diplomacy/korea-vietnam-comprehensive-strategic-partnership/20221019163606971.html, Accessed on 21 October 202
[iv] Hoang Do, 2020 “The Forgotten History of South Korean Massacres in Vietnam,” The Diplomat, 15 May 2020, https://thediplomat.com/2020/05/the-forgotten-history-of-south-korean-massacres-in-vietnam/, Accessed on 21 October 202
[v] Lee Han Woo, 2020, “Road to Normalization between South Korea and Vietnam: Factors and Policy making Process,” VNU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol 6, No 2 (2020) 160-180, DOI: https://doi.org/10.33100/jossh6.2.LeeHanWoo, Accessed on 21 October 202
[vi] Joon-woo Park, 2012, “Korea and Vietnam: The Bilateral Relationship,” Stanford: Korea Program, 2 March 2012, https://aparc.fsi.stanford.edu/korea/multimedia/korea-and-vietnam-bilateral-relationship-0, Accessed on 26 October 202
[vii] BBC News, 2000, “North Korea fought in the Vietnam War,” 31 March 2000, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/696970.stm, Accessed on 26 October 202
[viii] Lee Han Woo, 2020, “Road to Normalization between South Korea and Vietnam: Factors and Policy making Process,” VNU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol 6, No 2 (2020) 160-180, DOI: https://doi.org/10.33100/jossh6.2.LeeHanWoo, Accessed on 21 October 2022
[ix] The Korean Herald, “Korea, Vietnam forge strategic ties,” 30 March 2010, https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20091022000093, Accessed on 15 November 2022
[x] Ibid
[xi] Pham Quang Minh, 2013, “East Asia and the Pacific: The Regional Roles of Vietnam and South Korea,” Asia’s Middle Power? The Identity and Regional Policy of South Korea and Vietnam, edited by Joon-Woo Park, Gi-Wook Shin, and Donald W. Keyser, 73-97, Stanford: The Walter H. Shorenstein Asia Pacific Research Cente
[xii] Park Joon-Woo, 2013, “South Korea and Vietnam: Bilateral Relations,” Asia’s Middle Power? The Identity and Regional Policy of South Korea and Vietnam, edited by Joon-Woo Park, Gi-Wook Shin and Donald W. Keyser, 29-35, Stanford: The Walter H. Shorenstein Asia Pacific Research Center
[xiii] Lee Han Woo, 2020, “Road to Normalization between South Korea and Vietnam: Factors and Policy making Process,” VNU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol 6, No 2 (2020) 160-180, DOI: https://doi.org/10.33100/jossh6.2.LeeHanWoo, Accessed on 21 October 202
[xiv] World Integrated Solutions (WITS), 2022, “Korea, Rep. Product exports and imports to Vietnam 1992,” https://wits.worldbank.org/CountryProfile/en/Country/KOR/Year/1992/TradeFlow/EXPIMP/Partner/VNM/Product/all-groups, Accessed on 3 November 202
[xv] Phanh, Thanh Hoan and Jeong, Ji Young, 2012, “An Analysis of Korea-Vietnam Bilateral Trade relations,” Munich Personal RePEc Archive, Paper no. 48312, 15 July 2013, https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/48312/1/MPRA_paper_48312.pdf, Accessed on 3 November 202
[xvi] Ha Thi Hong Van, 2010, “Comparison of Vietnam and East Asia Countries (China, Korea, and Japan) Economic Relations,” In Japan and Korea with the Mekong River Basin Countries, edited by Mitsuhiro Kagami, BRC Research Report No.3, Bangkok Research Center, IDE-JETRO, Bangkok, Thailand, https://www.ide.go.jp/library/English/Publish/Reports/Brc/pdf/03_chapter7.pdf, Accessed on 27 October 202
[xvii] World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS), 2022, “Korea, Rep. trade balance, exports and imports
by country and region 2000,” https://wits.worldbank.org/CountryProfile/en/Country/KOR/Year/2000/TradeFlow/EXPIMP, Accessed on 1 November 202
[xviii] World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS), 2022, “Korea, Rep. trade balance, exports and imports
by country and region 2008,” https://wits.worldbank.org/CountryProfile/en/Country/KOR/Year/2008/TradeFlow/EXPIMP, Accessed on 1 November 202
[xix] Ha Thi Hong Van, 2010, “Comparison of Vietnam and East Asia Countries (China, Korea, and Japan) Economic Relations,” In Japan and Korea with the Mekong River Basin Countries, edited by Mitsuhiro Kagami, BRC Research Report No.3, Bangkok Research Center, IDE-JETRO, Bangkok, Thailand, https://www.ide.go.jp/library/English/Publish/Reports/Brc/pdf/03_chapter7.pdf, Accessed on 27 October 202
[xx] Kathryn Botto, 2021, “South Korea Beyond Northeast Asia: How Seoul Is Deepening Ties With India and ASEAN,” 19 October 2021, https://carnegieendowment.org/2021/10/19/south-korea-beyond-northeast-asia-how-seoul-is-deepening-ties-with-india-and-asean-pub-85572, Accessed on 4 November 202
[xxi] Ministry of Foreign Affairs Vietnam, 2011, “Viet Nam, Republic of Korea issue joint statement,” 9 November 2011, https://www.mofa.gov.vn/en/nr040807104143/nr040807105001/ns111110093529, Accessed on 27 October 202
[xxii] Ministry of Foreign Affairs Vietnam, 2012, “Viet Nam, RoK deepen strategic partnership,” 28 March 2012, https://www.mofa.gov.vn/en/nr040807104143/nr040807105001/ns120328162917, Accessed on 27 October 202
[xxiii] Michael Blomenhofer, 2017, “The rise of Korean investment in Vietnam How Korean companies can continue to thrive in an exciting but challenging jurisdiction,” Kroll, February 2017, https://www.kroll.com/-/media/kroll/pdfs/publications/the-rise-of-korean-investment-in-vietnam.ashx, Accessed on 27 October 202
[xxiv] Celina Pham, 2022, “Seven Years On: 4 Ways the Vietnam-Korea FTA is Changing Vietnam,” Vietnam Briefing, 24 October 2022, https://www.vietnam-briefing.com/news/seven-years-on-4-ways-the-vietnam-korea-fta-is-changing-vietnam.html/, Accessed on 9 November 202
[xxv] Sung-Mi Kim, 2018, “Cursed by Geopolitics? South Korea’s Place in Asia’s Changing Politics of Space,” SWP, October 2018, https://www.swp-berlin.org/publications/products/projekt_papiere/Kim_BCAS_2018_South_Korea_geopolitics_9_.pdf, Accessed on 4 November 202
[xxvi] The Korea Herald, 2017, “Damage from China's ban on Korean tours estimated at 7.5 tln won,” https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20171203000218, Accessed on 4 November 202
[xxvii] Kathryn Botto, 2021, “South Korea Beyond Northeast Asia: How Seoul Is Deepening Ties With India and ASEAN,” 19 October 2021, https://carnegieendowment.org/2021/10/19/south-korea-beyond-northeast-asia-how-seoul-is-deepening-ties-with-india-and-asean-pub-85572, Accessed on 4 November 202
[xxviii] Minh Vu, 2021, “Vietnam central to South Korea’s New Southern Policy: Chung Eui-yong,” Hanoi Times, 29 April 2021, https://hanoitimes.vn/vietnam-central-to-south-koreas-new-southern-policy-chung-eui-yong-317170.html, Accessed on 9 November 202
[xxix] Ibid
[xxx] Celina Pham, 2022, “Seven Years On: 4 Ways the Vietnam-Korea FTA is Changing Vietnam,” Vietnam Briefing, 24 October 2022, https://www.vietnam-briefing.com/news/seven-years-on-4-ways-the-vietnam-korea-fta-is-changing-vietnam.html/, Accessed on 9 November 202
[xxxii] Vietnamnet, “Vietnam, RoK sign joint vision statement on defence cooperation,” 25 April 2018, https://vietnamnet.vn/en/vietnam-rok-sign-joint-vision-statement-on-defence-cooperation-E199568.html, Accessed on 15 November 2022
[xxxiii] Ibid
[xxxiv] Vietnam News, 2022, “Việt Nam hopes to attract more capital from South Korea,” 18 October 2022, https://vietnamnews.vn/economy/1346450/viet-nam-hopes-to-attract-more-capital-from-south-korea.html, Accessed on 9 November 202
[xxxv] VOV World, 2018, “Vietnam, RoK sign joint vision statement on defence cooperation,” 25 April 2018, https://vovworld.vn/en-US/news/vietnam-rok-sign-joint-vision-statement-on-defence-cooperation-639211.vov, Accessed on 4 November 2022