Secretary of the party embarks on a state visit to South Korea

Vietnamese General Secretary Tô Lâm Visits South Korea, Strengthening Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

Vietnamese General Secretary Tô Lâm embarked on a four-day state visit to South Korea from August 10 to 13, 2025, marking a significant milestone in the growing relationship between the two countries. Hosted by President Lee Jae-myung, the visit aimed to deepen economic cooperation, expand bilateral trade, and advance infrastructure projects.

Accompanying General Secretary Tô Lâm were key members of the Vietnamese government, including Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Lê Minh Hoan, Minister of Home Affairs Phạm Thị Thanh Trà, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyễn Hồng Diên, Minister of Science and Technology Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng, Minister of Finance Nguyễn Văn Thắng, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyễn Văn Hùng, Assistant to the Party General Secretary Tô Ân Xô, and our ambassador to South Korea, Vũ Hò.

The discussions focused on various aspects of the relationship, including economic and trade cooperation, infrastructure projects, science and technology, political and security cooperation, cultural exchanges, and people-to-people connections.

In terms of economic and trade cooperation, both leaders pledged to boost bilateral trade from $86.8 billion in 2024 to $150 billion by 2030, facilitated by the bilateral free trade agreement. South Korean companies have heavily invested in Vietnam, with about 10,000 Korean firms operating there.

President Lee requested support for South Korean companies in Vietnam's large-scale infrastructure developments such as nuclear power plants, high-speed railways, and new city developments. General Secretary Tô Lâm vowed to explore detailed cooperation methods.

Both sides emphasized strategic cooperation in semiconductors, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, electrical grid, energy, and critical minerals. Vietnam expressed interest in nurturing talent in advanced fields including AI and shipbuilding.

The summit addressed political and security issues, promoting collaboration on non-traditional security challenges such as transnational crime, cybercrime, and drug trafficking. Both sides aimed to reinforce ties between their parties, governments, and parliaments to underpin comprehensive strategic partnership development.

They agreed to expand cultural exchanges, strengthen people-to-people connections, and commemorate strong historical and cooperative ties, exemplified by events such as the 30th anniversary of Ho Chi Minh City-Busan cooperation during the visit.

Both leaders emphasized building a future-oriented partnership without ignoring history, focusing on mutually beneficial collaboration in culture and economy.

The visit underscores Vietnam's foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification, and multilateralization of external relations. It is an important diplomatic activity aimed at promoting the implementation of the Politburo's Resolution No. 59 on international integration in the new situation. The visit is part of Vietnam's proactive, active, comprehensive, intensive, extensive, and effective international integration.

This is the first state visit to South Korea by General Secretary Lâm in his current position. The visit marked a strengthening of the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and South Korea, which has been growing since diplomatic ties were established in 1992 and upgraded in 2022. Their joint statement highlighted enhancing collaboration across all fields and adapting to regional and international developments.

In the realm of science and technology, both leaders expressed an interest in strategic cooperation in semiconductors, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, electrical grid, energy, and critical minerals.
General Secretary Tô Lâm pledged to explore detailed cooperation methods for South Korean companies in Vietnam's large-scale infrastructure developments such as nuclear power plants, high-speed railways, and new city developments.
The discussions addressed political and security issues, promoting collaboration on non-traditional security challenges such as transnational crime, cybercrime, and drug trafficking.
Vietnam's foreign policy was emphasized during the visit, being one of independence, self-reliance, diversification, and multilateralization of external relations.
The visit marked a significant milestone in the growing relationship between Vietnam and South Korea, strengthening their comprehensive strategic partnership in various fields such as economics, trade, infrastructure, and culture.
In terms of finance, the leaders pledged to boost bilateral trade from $86.8 billion in 2024 to $150 billion by 2030, facilitated by the bilateral free trade agreement.