South Korea imposed heavy security Sunday for a summit with Southeast Asian leaders following North Korean nuclear and missile tests that frayed nerves across the region, Associated Press reported. The summit was planned months ago, but North Korea's underground nuclear test and a series of short-range missile launches last week threatens to steal the limelight from economic and diplomatic matters. The summit venue of Seogwipo _ on the island of Jeju off the southern coast _ is the city farthest away from the North. Still, the nervous South Korean government is taking no chances, positioning a surface-to-air missile outside the venue aimed toward the north. Some 5,000 police officers, including approximately 200 commandos, and special vehicles that can analyze sarin gas and other chemicals have been deployed nearby, security authorities said in a press release. Marines, special forces and air patrols also kept watch on the island. Leaders of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations began arriving for the two-day summit, which officially begins Monday and commemorates 20 years of relations between South Korea and the bloc. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak planned to use Sunday for individual meetings, including with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan. ASEAN consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. In addition to the summit, a gathering of South Korean and Southeast Asian business leaders began Sunday with addresses by Lee and Abhisit, who both called for further cooperation to overcome the global economic crisis.
