President Lee Jae Myung returned home Wednesday from a four-day trip to Singapore and the Philippines, where he sought to expand economic cooperation with the Southeast Asian nations amid a changing global landscape. Lee wrapped up his state visits to the two Southeast Asian countries at a time of mounting tensions in the Middle East following joint attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran, which have rattled global financial markets, oil prices and supply chains. During his talks with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Monday, Lee and Wong agreed to launch negotiations to upgrade the bilateral free trade agreement and bolster cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI) and nuclear energy. In Manila, Lee and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. held talks on Tuesday and agreed to expand collaboration in nuclear energy, critical minerals, the defense industry and AI. On Thursday, Lee is scheduled to preside over an extraordinary Cabinet meeting to assess the latest situation in the Middle East with relevant ministries and discuss response measures. The meeting is expec