Park Jin to Attend Series of Meetings Including ARF in Cambodia Next Week

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] Foreign Minister Park Jin will consecutively attend ASEAN-related foreign ministers' meetings held in Cambodia from the 3rd to the 5th of next month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the 28th.

The Korea-ASEAN and ASEAN+3 (Korea-China-Japan) meetings will be held on the 3rd, and the East Asia Summit (EAS) and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) on the 4th.

Foreign Minister Park Jin is attending the government questioning session on politics, diplomacy, unification, and security held at the National Assembly plenary session hall on the 25th, responding to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Choi Young-sam, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at the regular briefing that the new government intends to strengthen relations with ASEAN and hopes that the ARF and other meetings will be important opportunities to secure international support for South Korea's North Korea policy.

The most notable schedule among these is the ARF foreign ministers' meeting.

The ARF is the only regional security consultative forum attended by North Korea, with participation from South Korea, the 10 ASEAN countries, the United States, China, Japan, the European Union (EU), and 27 countries in total.

This meeting, held face-to-face for the first time in three years since the 2019 meeting due to the impact of COVID-19, is expected to address the North Korean nuclear issue as a major agenda item.

Minister Park is expected to emphasize the so-called '3D' strategy, which involves deterring North Korea's nuclear threats, dissuading its nuclear development intentions, and simultaneously activating diplomacy, in light of North Korea's successive missile launches and the trends of the 7th nuclear test.

From North Korea, Ambassador An Kwang-il, the representative to the ASEAN mission and ambassador to Indonesia, is expected to attend. North Korea is likely to reiterate its existing position that its nuclear development is a form of 'self-defense enhancement' in response to the hostile policy of the United States.

Negotiations on the draft chairman's statement to be released after the ARF foreign ministers' meeting have already begun, and countries including South Korea are striving to reflect their national positions as much as possible.

In addition to the North Korean issue, the ARF and EAS foreign ministers' meetings are expected to address major agenda items such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar situation, and the South China Sea issue.

Minister Park plans to introduce the new government's policy direction toward ASEAN at the Korea-ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting and focus on discussing ways to achieve early economic recovery after COVID-19, including strengthening regional health cooperation and stabilizing supply chains, at the ASEAN+3 foreign ministers' meeting, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told reporters, "The new government's ASEAN policy will be explained as a continuation and expansion of the existing New Southern Policy," adding, "We will emphasize that there is no change in the policy that values ASEAN."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.