North Korea Will Attend ASEAN Forum

North Korea’s Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun will attend the ASEAN Regional Forum to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the North Korean Embassy in Malaysia announced yesterday.

According to the embassy, Paek will arrive in Kuala Lumpur on July 27, the first day of the forum. However, no detail was revealed regarding Paek’s schedule during the meeting.

Although it had been confirmed that Paek will attend the forum, there was uncertainty surrounding his visit due to North Korea’s prolonged “silence” after the UN Security Council adopted a resolution on July 15.

“In light of ASEAN Regional Forum’s consensus-based decision making process, North Korea seems to have decided that it is better to actively voice its opinion at the forum as a member,” said a South Korean Foreign Ministry official.

Some say that the forum is an opportunity that North Korea cannot miss where it can reconfirm “special sentiments” with its traditional allies in ASEAN. Moreover, some see a ray of hope for a possible six-party foreign ministers’ meeting. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had mentioned earlier in a joint press conference on July 21 that if a six-party meeting was held on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum, she would be happy to participate.

Jung-Ahn Kim credo@donga.com