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South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha attends the ASEAN Regional Forum via video conference on Sept. 12. (Yonhap News)

In the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the South Korean government once again stressed the need for resuming dialogue, but North Korea said that the conditions aren’t right. The ARF is the only multilateral deliberative body in the region in which South Korea, North Korea, and the US are full members.

“The Korean Peninsula has long been shrouded in distrust that cannot be cleared up in a short period of time. The only way to resolve issues on the Korean Peninsula is through ongoing dialogue and cooperation,” South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said during the foreign ministers’ meeting at the 27th ARF, which was held via video conference on Sept. 12. Kang’s remarks were reported by South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on the same day.

Kang also said that South Korea will “move forward toward the common goals declared by the leaders of South Korea, North Korea, and the US,” repeating the message she delivered during a meeting of foreign ministers connected to ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) on Sept. 9.

North Korea dispatched an ambassador, rather than its foreign minister, to this year’s meeting, just as it did last year. Toward the end of the meeting, An Kwang-il, North Korea’s ambassador to Indonesia and head of its mission to ASEAN, reportedly emphasized the country’s battle with COVID-19 and flood damage without commenting directly on Kang’s remarks or about North Korea’s relations with the South or with the US.

But MOFA reported that An said “the conditions are not right” for immediately resuming dialogue because North Korea’s current challenge is to overcome various difficulties as it moves down the path to becoming a powerful country. MOFA interpreted this as North Korea indirectly expressing skepticism about South Korea’s proposal for dialogue.

The US had Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun attend the meeting instead of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. A State Department readout noted that Biegun was attending a meeting with 26 countries “including the DPRK [North Korea]” and said that Biegun had emphasized “US support for a path to lasting peace in the Korean Peninsula.”

By Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter

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