Customers at a supermarket in the Republic of Korea (Photo: AFP/VNA) Hanoi, (VNA) – The Republic of Korea earned 82.32 billion USD from exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) in the January-October period this year, an increase of 4.7 percent year on year, according to Yonhap news agency. Yonhap quoted statistics released by the country’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on November 6, which showed the bilateral trade with the regional economic bloc stood at 132.1 billion USD over the period, and is likely to surpass 150 billion USD this year. The RoK has sought stronger economic relations with ASEAN under President Moon Jae-in’s “New Southern Policy” to reduce its heavy reliance on trade with the United States and China, and foster new growth drivers. It set a goal of raising the bilateral trade with ASEAN to over 200 billion USD by 2020. The ASEAN member countries are Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand, with their combined population estimated at 640 million. -VNA
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