BUSAN - South Korean President Moon Jae-in has pledged to give more support to the 600,000 people from Asean countries living in Korea, including ramping up the number of scholarships given to Asean students studying in South Korea.

This will help to expand people-to-people exchanges between South Korea and the regional bloc, he said at a press conference after meeting Asean leaders at the Asean-Korea Commemorative Summit in Busan on Tuesday (Nov 26).

The government will also take more interest in the Asean population - which has grown from around 440,000 in 2016 - and provide support to "help them grow as members of their local communities". Most of them are workers, marriage migrants, and students.

On the reverse side, South Korea will also work closely with Asean countries to make sure that Korean people living in South-east Asia are "supported and protected, thereby realising the value of mutual benefits", said Mr Moon.

The President also promised to more than double the number of scholarships for the 51,790 Asean students studying in South Korea, from the current 280 to 700 in 2022. This will "contribute to nurturing the future leaders of Asean", he said.

Streamlining visa issuance and expanding open skies agreements will also help to promote people-to-people exchanges, he noted.

To further upgrade ties, South Korea and Asean announced a slew of agreements on the sidelines of the two-day summit, spanning areas such as defence, security, smart cities, logistics, start-ups and cultural exchange. They also agreed to strengthen cooperation on non-conventional security threats such as terrorism, cross-border crime, cyber security and climate change.

President Moon, who has been pushing for inter-Korea dialogue, also noted that Asean agreed to cooperate with the South to utilise Asean-led initiatives such as the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) to engage North Korea in a bid to achieve denuclearisation.

The ARF is the only multilateral platform that draws participation from the North, which maintains friendly ties with many Asean nations.

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, as co-chair of the summit, voiced support for the "important and constructive role" played by South Korea in trying to resolve the North's nuclear issue. He also urged all concerned parties to fully implement United Nations sanctions against the North.

"Asean stands ready to provide Asean-led platforms, especially the ARF, to facilitate the peaceful efforts of relevant parties to promote peace and stability on the Korean peninsula as well as promote stability in the Asia-Pacific region in a sustainable manner," he said.