Cho Tae-yeol Heads to ASEAN... 'Security Diplomacy' Targeting North Korea-Russia Closeness

Attending ARF... Multilateral Security Forum Including North Korea
Diplomatic Efforts Focused on Condemning 'North Korea-Russia Illegal Cooperation'

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeol is departing for Laos to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). A fierce diplomatic battle is expected targeting the 'dangerous closeness' between North Korea and Russia in the multilateral security consultation body where North Korea is the sole participant.

Cho Tae-yeol, Minister of Foreign Affairs [Photo by Yonhap News]

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minister Cho will depart from Incheon International Airport at 9:40 a.m. on the 25th. He will arrive in Vientiane, Laos, where the ARF meeting will be held, around evening. Major bilateral and multilateral schedules are set to begin on the 26th (local time). He will co-chair the Korea-ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, and will also consecutively attend the ASEAN+3 (Korea, China, Japan) Foreign Ministers' Meeting and the East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers' Meeting. Among the schedule continuing until the 27th, whether separate bilateral talks with the U.S., China, and Japan will be arranged is also a point of interest.

The notable schedule is the ARF Foreign Ministers' Meeting held on the afternoon of the 27th. Since joining the ARF in 2000, North Korea has sent its Foreign Minister to attend, but since the so-called 'Hanoi No Deal' that led to the collapse of the North Korea-U.S. summit in 2019, it has sent the ambassador resident in the host country as the chief representative instead of the Foreign Minister. Laos, the chair country this year and friendly with North Korea, showed enthusiasm for the attendance of Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, but as of this day, no attendance has been detected. Diplomatic circles expect North Korea to send Ambassador Ri Yong-chol to Laos instead of Foreign Minister Choe.

The ARF meeting will be attended by foreign ministers of ASEAN countries as well as key foreign ministers such as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Each is expected to focus all efforts on emphasizing their country's stance on regional issues such as the Korean Peninsula, Ukraine, the South China Sea, and the Middle East.

Our government plans to strongly condemn North Korea and Russia for strengthening illegal military and economic cooperation through the 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement.' In particular, diplomatic efforts will focus on ensuring that the ARF chair’s statement includes criticism of this closeness. Although the chair’s statement is not legally binding, it is regarded as international public opinion, making coordination of positions among participating countries challenging.