N. Korea to hold talks with EU, several countries at ARF

0 Comments | Asian Political News, July 17, 2000

BANGKOK, July 14 Kyodo

North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun will hold talks with his counterparts from several countries and the European Union (EU) at a regional security forum in Bangkok later this month, Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan said Friday.

During North Korea's first participation in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) meeting, Paek will meet with representatives from the United States, Canada, New Zealand, South Korea and the EU for bilateral talks.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer also wants to have bilateral talks with Paek, and Australian and North Korean officials are working to accommodate the request, an Australian diplomat in Bangkok said.

Paek is scheduled to visit Thailand July 25-29. Besides attending the July 27 ARF annual meeting, he will also meet with Surin to mark with the 25th anniversary of the forging of diplomatic ties between Thailand and North Korea.

Thailand now holds the rotating chairmanship of the ARF.

The ARF, the only multilateral group in Asia to tackle security issues, was created in 1994 under the initiative of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to promote confidence- building in the Asia-Pacific region.

This year's ARF meeting begins on the evening of July 26, when foreign ministers of ARF members will hold informal talks over dinner. The talks will be followed by another round of discussions July 27.

The group's ASEAN core currently has 12 partners -- Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, Papua New Guinea, South Korea, Canada, Russia and the U.S., as well as India, Mongolia and the EU.

The 10 ASEAN countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

North Korea will become the 23rd member of the ARF during the seventh ministerial meeting in Bangkok.

Surin said it would be the first time for the ARF to have ministers from both North and South Korea participating in talks on security issues, including the Korean Peninsula.

Security on the peninsula has dominated ARF meetings every year since the forum's inauguration in July 1994.

Surin said ARF ministers will also discuss regional security problems posed by globalization, including transborder crime, piracy, illegal migration and illicit arms traffic.