US pressing Thailand to downgrade its ties with North Korea

Washington: The US has urged Thailand to downgrade diplomatic and trade ties with North Korea, a senior Thai official said on Thursday after meeting with an American envoy, as the Trump administration pushes ahead with a global campaign to further isolate the nuclear-armed pariah state.

General Wanlop Rugsanoah, secretary general of Thailand’s National Security Council, said the request was made during his meeting with US special envoy for North Korea Joseph Yun, who arrived in Bangkok on Wednesday evening for a two-day trip to the kingdom.

“The US asked Thailand to put more pressure on North Korea, put more trade and diplomatic pressure,” Mr Wanlop said after his sit-down with Yun in Bangkok.

He stressed that Bangkok had already significantly reduced its trade volume with Pyongyang – down to around US$1.5 million a year – and would curtail visas to North Korean citizens.

Thailand, one of America’s oldest allies in the region, is one of several Southeast Asian countries to host a North Korean embassy, and once enjoyed valuable economic ties with the reclusive regime.

But the UN and the US have increasingly leaned on regional leaders to do more to squeeze North Korea as international sanctions have not resulted in Pyongyang halting its nuclear and long-range ballistic missile tests.

Mr Yun’s visit is part of a December 11-15 trip to Asia – including a stop in Japan – “to discuss ways to strengthen the pressure campaign following the DPRK’s latest ballistic missile test,” the US State Department said, referring to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the North’s official name.

The US embassy in Bangkok confirmed Yun’s meeting with the National Security Council chief took place but declined to provide more details on the discussion.