At ASEAN meetings, Japan, pushes for North Korea dialogue

Kuala Lumpur, July 12 (IANS) First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo has wrapped up his visit to Malaysia after attending a series of multilateral meetings led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a venue marked by three-way talks with the United States and Japan, and calls for dialogue with North Korea.

Park's three-day trip, which concluded Friday, also set the stage for Seoul to reaffirm its commitment to ASEAN diplomacy under the new government of President Lee Jae Myung and to demonstrate resilience in the wake of the political turmoil sparked by ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial law attempt.

The trilateral talks, joined by Park, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya on the margins of the gathering, took place despite South Korea not yet having a new top diplomat, as the appointment process is still under way.

Park attended the ASEAN meetings in place of the foreign minister.

To that end, holding the first high-level diplomatic dialogue since the Lee government's launch reflected their commitment to advancing their trilateral partnership following the change of leadership in Seoul.

It also offered an opportunity for Seoul and Washington to make up for their missed bilateral talks after Rubio canceled his planned visit to South Korea, which was originally scheduled to take place before the meetings in Malaysia.

At the talks, the three sides reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea and agreed to maintain a strong deterrence based on close trilateral coordination, reported Yonhap news agency.

At the same time, Park used the meeting to explain South Korea's efforts to ease inter-Korean tensions and resume dialogue with the North, calling for close cooperation with the US and Japan in that regard.

A senior foreign ministry official told reporters after the talks that the US and Japan are believed to share Seoul's position.

"It appeared that they shared the same stance in leaving the door open for dialogue with North Korea," he said.

Since taking office, Lee has called for renewed talks with Pyongyang as a key element of his inter-Korean policy, a shift from his predecessor's hard-line approach toward the North.

Park echoed this push for easing tensions throughout the ASEAN meetings.

Park used the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) to highlight such efforts, saying that the Lee government will work to make tangible progress toward peace on the Korean Peninsula.

At the ministerial meeting of the East Asia Summit, Park called for unified efforts toward resolving the North's nuclear issues.

With ASEAN, Park reaffirmed South Korea's commitment to deepening ties with the 10-member regional bloc under the Lee government, concluding the adoption of plans of action for 2026-30 based on their comprehensive strategic partnership.

The plans call for expanding cooperation in addressing common challenges like global supply chain uncertainties, climate change and transnational crimes, and in areas including artificial intelligence, digital and green transitions.

As in previous years, this year's ARF had been closely watched to see whether North Korea would attend, as it is the only multilateral forum regularly attended by Pyongyang.

As widely expected, North Korea skipped the forum, its first absence in 25 years since joining the platform in 2000. Its severed diplomatic ties with Malaysia are believed to have influenced the decision.

Another key takeaway from the meetings was whom Park would personally engage with, inside and outside the sessions.

He was seen having a brief first in-person encounter with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and speaking closely with Rubio before the meetings began.

No interaction was observed with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

While attending the ASEAN meetings, Park held talks with the five Mekong nations - Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. He also met bilaterally with the top diplomats and his counterparts of Thailand, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Malaysia.

--IANS

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