South Korea's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha departed for Vietnam on Thursday for talks with her counterpart about cooperation in COVID-19 responses and other bilateral issues. 

Leaving for Hanoi for a two-day trip, Minister Kang told reporters at Incheon International Airport that she will discuss ways to expand personnel exchanges between the two nations amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In the talks, Kang is expected to try to persuade the Vietnamese government to create an expedited entry system for essential trips by businesspeople. 

Kang said that the two sides have yet to coordinate quarantine steps for people who would make these trips under the expedited entry system, adding she will focus on the matter with Vietnamese officials. 

The minister said she will also discuss ways to expand person-to-person exchanges including increasing flights between the two nations. 
 
Kang is scheduled to hold talks with Vietnam's Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on Friday in Hanoi. Kang will be the first foreign minister to visit Vietnam amid the pandemic.