FM Gong begins talks in Hanoi

FM Gong begins talks in Hanoi

HANOI (AFP): South Korean Foreign Minister Gong Ro-myung began
a day of official talks here yesterday that were expected to
focus on economic links and tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Gong was to spend the day in talks with his counterpart Nguyen
Manh Cam and was to pay courtesy calls on Communist Party General
Secretary Do Muoi, President Le Duc Anh and Deputy Premier Tran
Duc Luong.

The South Korean minister arrived in Ho Chi Minh City last
Saturday and held talks with local officials, including the
city's Communist Party chief, Truong Tan Sang.

Sang, a rising member of the Vietnamese leadership, told the
minister that relations between the countries would not be
affected by a large number of labor disputes involving South
Korean companies.

A South Korean factory supervisor is due to go on trial
tomorrow for beating 17 workers with a half-finished shoe at the
Sam Yang Shoe Factory in Cu Chi outside Ho Chi Minh City.