President Yoon says South Korea to form strategic partnership with Singapore next year

Seoul, South Korea - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said his country has agreed with Singapore to enter into a strategic partnership next year, the 50th anniversary of the two nations setting up diplomatic relations.

Yoon, who is visiting Singapore for a summit with Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, said in a televised address that the two nations will deepen cooperation in fields such as artificial intelligence and startups under the strategic partnership.

The two countries also signed an extradition treaty, Yoon said, adding it will help them to step up judicial cooperation.

In addition, South Korea, the world's No.3 importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), and Singapore, an LNG hub, signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in LNG supplies, which will contribute to the stability of the international supply chain, Yoon said.

The cooperation could include LNG swaps, joint purchases, and cooperation in response to any LNG supply chain crises, the Yonhap news agency reported.

Yoon visited the Philippines earlier this week and after wrapping up his trip to Singapore on Wednesday will head to Laos, to attend a regional summit of leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and several other Asian countries.

In a written interview with The Straits Times newspaper, Yoon was quoted as saying that Seoul will actively participate in joint military exercises with ASEAN and step up defence industry cooperation. South Korea will also work to jointly address emerging threats such as cyber and transnational crime, he said.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Ed Davies)