PRIME MINISTER

FOR MEDIA .  %  "X- TUESDAY, MAY 4 19 82

VISIT BY THE PRIME MINISTER TO THE

REPUBLIC OF KOREA

The Prime Minister announced today that he will visit  the Republic of Korea later this month in response to an  invitation extended to him by the Korean Government.

The visit to Korea will be the first by an Australian  Prime Minister since that made by Mr Holt in 1967. The . Prime Minister will arrive in Seoul from Japan on 23 May  and leave for Australia on 25 May.

The Prime Minister said that Australia's relations with  the ROK continue to grow in importance. The Korean  Peninsula was an area of regional and strategic contention;  its stability and the security of the ROK were important to  Australia. /

The ROK has also developed as one of Australia's most  important trading partners, with two way trade valued at  almost $1 billion in the last calendar year.

The Prime Minister said that the visit will provide an  opportunity to discuss important regional and international  developments as well as the further development of bilateral  relations.

— oOo—

