ARF Foreign Ministers' Meeting Held Today... Will North Korea Speak on 'South Korea-US Joint Military Exercises'?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) foreign ministers' meeting, a multilateral security consultation body in which North Korea is the sole participant, will be held on the 6th. North Korea is set to be represented not by Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon but by Ambassador An Kwang-il, the Permanent Representative to ASEAN and Ambassador to Indonesia. Attention is focused on whether North Korea will speak on issues surrounding the Korean Peninsula, such as the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the evening, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong will attend the ARF foreign ministers' meeting held via video conference to discuss responses to regional security issues. He is also expected to introduce the current situation, including the restoration of communication lines, and seek international support for the Korean Peninsula peace process.

North Korea will have Ambassador An attend for the second consecutive year instead of Foreign Minister Ri. Since joining in 2000, North Korea has consistently used the ARF as a diplomatic platform for inter-Korean and North Korea-U.S. relations, but has taken a somewhat passive stance since the breakdown of the Hanoi summit. While Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho attended the 2018 ARF meeting, the foreign minister did not participate in 2019 and last year, with the North Korean ambassador to the ARF chair country attending instead.

This meeting is the first multilateral meeting held since the restoration of communication lines, and attention is on whether Ambassador An will mention issues related to the Korean Peninsula, such as the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises. Considering the recent close ties between North Korea and China, there is also expected to be mention of China-related issues, a major agenda item of the ARF meeting. Last year at the ARF, Ambassador An stated, "The South China Sea issue should be resolved through dialogue, and the Hong Kong issue is an internal matter of China."