Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha plans to travel to Vietnam next week for talks with her counterpart on various bilateral issues, including joint efforts for cooperation amid the coronavirus pandemic, diplomatic sources said Friday.

Kang will depart for the Southeast Asian country on Thursday for talks with her Vietnamese counterpart, Pham Binh Minh, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The two-day visit to Hanoi will be Kang's second trip abroad since the global spread of COVID-19 put a curb on diplomatic travels. She visited Germany early last month in the first such trip since the pandemic.

In talks with Minh, Kang is expected to call for the easing of entry restrictions for businesspeople so as to allow them proceed with their overseas work smoothly.

South Korea has been trying to persuade foreign countries to establish expedited entry systems for its businesspeople. China and Singapore set up such procedures, and Kang is expected to call for Vietnam to create a similar program.

The two sides are also expected to use the meeting to share their views on enhancing cooperation between South Korea and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) under Seoul's signature New Southern Policy, aimed at deepening economic and other ties with ASEAN partners. (Yonhap)