Philippine president leaves for state visit to South Korea

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III left Thursday morning for a two-day state visit to South Korea despite strong earthquakes that struck parts of Visayas and Mindanao two days ago. In Seoul, Aquino is expected to discuss with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye issues such as political and economic relations, official development assistance, consular and labor cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said. The two leaders will also witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding on defense cooperation. South Korea is one of the Philippines' major investment and trade partners with bilateral trade reaching 7.4 billion U.S. dollars last year.