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South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong attends the virtual Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum on Friday. The person on the screen is North Korean Ambassador to Indonesia An Kwang-il, who represented Pyongyang. (provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

South Korea and the US renewed their calls on North Korea to resume dialogue during the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum (ARF), the only multilateral security discussion framework in the region where South and North Korea and the US are all formal members.

North Korea did not respond directly but signaled its “will for peace,” sources said.

During the 28th ARF Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, which took place via videoconference Friday, South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Chung Eui-yong called for “an agreement between the South and North Korean leaders to honor their promise to turn the Korean Peninsula into a place of peace without nuclear weapons or nuclear threats,” the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Saturday.

Describing the recent restoration of the inter-Korean communication hotline as a positive step toward resuming the Korean Peninsula peace process, Chung was quoted as saying that he looked forward to the two sides cooperating in various areas in the intermediate to long term.

In particular, Chung said he welcomed the attendance of North Korean Ambassador to Indonesia An Kwang-il, who was representing Pyongyang.

During the meeting that day, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reportedly said that he wished to convey a message to North Korea through An, stressing that the US was unchanged in its willingness to meet unconditionally at any time or place once North Korea designated a negotiation representative who is invested with authority.

But in a press readout issued after the meeting Friday, the US State Department only said that Blinken had “joined other countries in calling for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

It was the second year in a row that An attended as a senior representative for North Korea, rather than its foreign minister. He is also North Korea’s ambassador to ASEAN.

Speaking toward the end of the meeting, An talked about North Korea’s measures and efforts to combat COVID-19 and achieve economic recovery, sources said. He also reportedly made remarks to the effect that North Korea was experiencing hardship due to hostile pressure from the outside but remained unchanged in its will to achieve peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

There were no reports of any direct reference by An to the previous remarks by Chung or Blinken or to inter-Korean or North Korea-US relations.

At last year’s meeting, An similarly avoided responding directly to the calls from South Korea and US to resume dialogue, speaking instead about how North Korea’s current efforts were focused on overcoming its difficulties to become a strong and prosperous nation.

At the time, he acknowledged that the “conditions are difficult,” which the South Korean government interpreted as Pyongyang’s indirect expression of skepticism about resuming dialogue.

This is why his latest remarks about North Korea’s unchanged will to achieve peace on the peninsula are drawing attention. It’s a reflection of the changing attitude from Pyongyang, which said that the South and North Korean leaders had “agreed to make a big stride in recovering the mutual trust and promoting reconciliation” by restoring the inter-Korean hotlines.

The MOFA said that “many of the participating countries remarked on the importance of dialogue for the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula, as well as the need to enforce UN Security Council resolutions.”

Another key issue discussed at the meeting was the situation in Myanmar. Chung was quoted by the MOFA as having called for a return to democracy in Myanmar and the swift release of those under detention.

He also commended on developments in the South China Sea, which have been a hot potato at ASEAN Regional Forums every year.

“Maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea is an important matter for all countries,” he said, stressing the need for “respect for international laws, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and guarantees on freedom of navigation and flight.” His remarks reiterated the South Korean government’s previous position on South China Sea issues.

By Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter

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