South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba were scheduled to hold their first summit on Thursday in Laos, Yoon's office said, as the neighbours seek to deepen security and economic ties.

President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba are set to hold their first summit on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Laos on Thursday,

Southeast Asian leaders met in Laos on Wednesday for a summit expected to seek ways address the worsening civil war in Myanmar, with Thailand calling for heightened engagement ahead of a planned election by the country's embattled military rulers.

Southeast Asian leaders are meeting at an annual forum that will focus on the civil war in Myanmar and territorial tensions in the South China Sea, two challenges that have long tested the bloc’s cred