S. Korean FM to take part in Asean regional forum meeting on peninsula, regional security

SEOUL: South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui Yong was set to a end the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Regional Forum (ARF) via video link yesterday, as South Korea seeks to secure global support for its renewed push to resume dialogue with North Korea following last week’s restoration of inter-Korean communication lines.

The ARF, a multilateral forum involving North Korea, will bring together top diplomats of 27 countries, including the US, China, Japan, and the European Union, reported Yonhap.

At the meeting, North Korea will be represented by An Kwang Il, its ambassador to Indonesia, rather than Foreign Minister Ri Son Gwon, as was the case last year, according to a diplomatic source.

Chung plans to use the ARF meeting to call for the international community’s backing for Seoul’s efforts to kickstart a dialogue with Pyongyang and move forward with its drive for complete denuclearisation and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will also be present at the ARF meeting, where the State Department said the secretary will urge Asean members to fully implement United Nations Security Council resolutions on the North.

Blinken has no plans to engage the North Korean participant on any particular issues at the ARF session, a senior State Department official has said.

Shared challenges, such as Covid-19 and climate change, are also likely to figure prominently in the ARF agenda. — Bernama