PHNOM PENH: South Korea and Cambodia have officially entered a "comprehensive strategic partnership" under Cambodia’s new administration. On September 7, President of the National Assembly of Cambodia, Khuon Sodary, requested that her South Korean counterpart, Kim Jin-pyo, promote strong and comprehensive relations between the two countries in both the legislative and executive branches.

South Korea’s President of the National Assembly, Kim Jin-pyo, arrived with his delegation to Phnom Penh on September 6, starting a four day official visit to meet with Cambodia’s high-level officials including the presidents of both the National Assembly and the Senate in addition to the former and current prime ministers. He began the morning of September 7 by laying a memorial wreath at the statue of the late King Norodom Sihanouk.

He then attended a meeting at the National Assembly building, where National Assembly President Khuon Sodary asked him to continue to support the agreements and memoranda of understanding that the governments of the two countries made under the previous administration, regarding importing products from Cambodia, developing the agro-industrial sector, and supporting Cambodian workers in South Korea. She also asked for closer cooperation between the two National Assemblies in training governmental human resources, especially in the fields of information technology and research. Kim Jin-pyo agreed to the requests and promised to increase the quota for agricultural technical workers and training officials.

Korea’s National Assembly president will next pay a courtesy call to the leader of Cambodia’s other legislative body, the Senate. Currently the Senate’s president is Say Chhum, however, former Prime Minister Hun Sen has announced he intends to take over the position following February’s Senate elections. Kim Jin-pyo will be meeting with him during his visit as well.