Minister of Agriculture , Food and Rural Affairs Kim Jae - soo ( left ) holds talks with nine ambassadors from Southeast Asia to discuss ways to expand trade in agriculture , in Seoul on March 31 . ( Ministry of Agriculture , Food and Rural Affairs ) By Kang Gahui and   Sohn JiAe Korea and nine Southeast Asian countries have discussed ways to expand trade in agricultural items and food staples . The Ministry of Agriculture , Food and Rural Affairs invited ambassadors to Korea from Vietnam , the Philippines , Indonesia , Thailand , Singapore , Malaysia , Myanmar , Laos and Cambodia to its offices in Seoul on March 31 to touch upon the current status of trade in agricultural and food products among the countries . They talked about ways to further expand mutual cooperation across the sector . “ Southeast Asia is among the most beloved tourist sites for the Korean people . There ’ s a growing number of tourists to Korea , too , traveling from the Philippines and Thailand , ” said Minister of Agriculture , Food and Rural Affairs Kim Jae - soo . “ Amid these growing tourist activities , we hope to see more exchanges in the agricultural and food industries , as well , ” the minister said . Finally , the minister noted the possibility to increase trade in halal food , in particular , targeting the many Muslim consumers in Indonesia , Malaysia and elsewhere . He asked for each government to support the acceleration of Korean exports of dairy and livestock products , and fruit . kgh 89 @ korea . krCopyright ⓒ 1999 - 2013 KOCIS . All rights reserved .