Seoul invites N. Korea to ASEAN forum

It has been revealed that the South Korean government has extended an invitation to the North, asking its neighbor to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum for a trust-building session scheduled to start Oct. 30 in Seoul.

"Early this month, we sent invitations for the upcoming meeting to the ARF member nations (22), as well as North Korea,¡± a source in the South¡¯s government revealed Sept. 17.

This action marks the first time that Seoul has extended a welcome mat to North Korea for an international meeting. However, it was made possible by the entrance of North Korea to the ARF as the 23rd member nation on Jul. 27 during the ARF meeting, which discussed national security and cooperation issues.

Boo Hyung-Kwon bookum90@donga.com