South Korea has agreed to host what will be the third Summit for Democracy, a senior administration official from the United States said, as the second summit was set to kick-start here later Wednesday with some 120 global leaders taking part.

A formal announcement of South Korea hosting the third summit will be made later in the day, according to the official.

"We are really pleased to share that the Republic of Korea has agreed to host a future third summit," the U.S. official said during a telephone press briefing held Tuesday, referring to South Korea by its official name.

The Summit for Democracy was first held in December 2021, hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden.

The second summit, set to be held Wednesday and Thursday, is co-hosted by Biden and his counterparts from South Korea, Costa Rica, the Netherlands and Zambia.

The five leaders are each scheduled to host one of five plenary sessions throughout the two-day event, with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol set to lead the first plenary meeting on "economic growth and shared prosperity."

"Beginning with the first summit in 2021, at this point we brought together hundreds of leaders from governments, civil society, the private sector committed to strengthening democratic governance, protecting human rights and advancing the fight against corruption," the U.S. administration official said.

"The feedback we have gotten on all of this is that the work is ongoing and that it can and should continue after the conclusion of this summit," the official added. "So we just want to say how thankful we are to our Korean partners for taking on that responsibility."

Source: Yonhap News Agency