Upon seeing off U.S. President Donald Trump in his first state visit to South Korea, President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday jumped on a plane himself in Seoul to begin his three-nation, eight-day tour to Southeast Asia where he will pay a state visit to Indonesia and attend economic meetings coming up in the region.

Moon will be in Indonesia for a state visit between Nov. 8 and 10, then fly to Danang, Vietnam to take part in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit scheduled for Nov. 10 and 11 where he will hold separate talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and rendezvous with Trump.

He will visit the Philippines and attend Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) + 3 Summit and the East Asia Summit (EAS) on Nov. 13 and 14.

It is Moon’s fifth overseas trip since he took office in May.

His visit to Southeast Asia comes after his recent comment about “balancing” diplomacy by strengthening ties with countries and broadening the foreign front beyond the traditional global powers - the United States, China, Japan, and Russia - for solutions for the Korean Peninsula.

Moon is scheduled for a tete-a-tete with China’s Xi who recently entered his second five-year term. They are expected to raise voices against North Korea’s weapons advances and speak on recent agreement to normalize ties strained after Seoul decided to install a U.S. anti-missile system for better deterrence. The meeting comes as Moon and Trump agreed on Tuesday to expand purchases of U.S. arms and deployment of strategic assets around the Korean Peninsula.

By Kang Gye-man and Cho Jeehyun

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