WNAM REPORT: General Director of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) Vu Viet Trang and President and CEO of the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Yonhap News Agency Hwang Dae-il held talks in Hanoi on December 10, during which they sought measures to foster cooperation in the time ahead.
Trang congratulated Hwang on his appointment as Yonhap’s leader in October and highlighted the significance of his visit, which comes at a time when the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and the RoK is flourishing after 32 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties (December 22, 1992 – 2024).
She also noted the substantive cooperation between the two news agencies, matching their missions and keeping up with the fast-paced evolution of the global media landscape fueled by modern technological advancements.
According to Trang, VNA and Yonhap are currently implementing cooperation within the framework of an agreement signed in Hanoi in December 2022. Over the past two years, they have maintained the exchange of journalists after disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Regular direct meetings and contacts have enabled timely exchanges and discussions on issues of mutual concerns.
VNA highly evaluates its comprehensive cooperation with Yonhap, she said, emphasising that the exchanges of information, experiences, and delegations have brought the two agencies closer while deepening the Vietnam-RoK relations.
For his part, Hwang expressed his delight at the growing collaboration between the two agencies and revealed that Yonhap is developing a Vietnamese-language news service (YVNS) to provide updates on the RoK and the Vietnam-RoK ties, with artificial intelligence (AI) optimised in translation.
The service, currently in a pilot phase, has garnered positive feedback from the Department of Vietnamese Language at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, he said, adding Yonhap sought VNA’s recommendations and support in operating the site.
Hwang also thanked VNA for its assistance to Yonhap’s correspondents in Hanoi and requested further support to help them perform their duties.
Trang agreed with Yonhap’s proposal to collaborate in building the YVNS, stressing the initiative aligns with the foreign policies of both countries, and that it would serve as a bridge for enhancing mutual understanding between the Vietnamese and Korean people.
The General Director assigned Vietnam Pictorial, a VNA unit specialising in multilingual information production, to assist Yonhap in the trial phase by reviewing and refining AI-generated Vietnamese translations. She also proposed further discussions on cooperation activities once the site is officially put into operation.
Trang also asked VNA’s VietnamPlus E-newspaper to study the possibility of embedding the link and icon of this service on its website to widely disseminate Vietnamese-language news about the RoK to the public.
On this occasion, the two sides shared views on how to maintain and promote cooperation activities, especially the sharing of experience in digital transformation and the application of advanced technologies, including robotics and AI, to enhance operational efficiency and reduce workforce demands.
Both sides also reaffirmed their commitments to supporting each other in their development journeys.
