President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a meeting with the leaders and top officials of Pacific island nations at Yeongbingwan inside Cheong Wa Dae in central Seoul, Monday. Yoon met bilaterally with the leaders of the Cook Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Solomon Islands, Niue and Palau on the sidelines of the Korea-Pacific Islands Summit that began its two-day run. Yoon held summits with the leaders of five other Pacific island nations, Sunday. Yoon pledged to strengthen "tailored" support for each Pacific island country, while noting that Korea respects the independence and sovereignty of all countries and the rules-based international order, according to his spokesman Lee Do-woon. Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon |