N. Korea's participation in major regional forum remains uncertain

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, June 24 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has yet to confirm whether it will attend
the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) next month amid a renewed stand-off with the
international community over its missile and nuclear programs, a Thai government
official said Wednesday,

The North's possible appearance at the annual forum, attended by top diplomats
from more than two dozen countries including the United States, is being closely
watched for an indication of whether Pyongyang will break its diplomatic
isolation, which has deepened since its second nuclear test on May 25.
"Due to the uncertain situation on the Korean Peninsula, we are awaiting
confirmation whether the DPRK (North Korea)'s foreign minister will come, but it
is our hope that he does. He will make significant contribution to the ARF
talks," Arthayudh Srisamoot, deputy director-general of the Thai foreign
ministry's ASEAN bureau, told Yonhap News Agency.
Thailand chairs this year's ASEAN meetings, which are set to be held on the
island of Phuket from July 21-23.
Srisamoot's latest remark contrasts against his earlier comments expressing
confidence that the North would send Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun to the meeting.
The Thai official said about a week before the North's nuclear test that both Pak
and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would attend, possibly setting the
stage for their first meeting.
At the time, Srisamoot said that Thai Foreign Minister Karsit Piromya planned to
visit Pyongyang to discuss details of North Korea's participation in this year's
session. But the minister has canceled the trip, the official said, without
clarifying the reason.
Diplomatic sources in Seoul said the North appears to have rejected his visit in
anger over the ASEAN's condemnation of its nuclear test and missile launches,
which came in a statement issued at its special summit with South Korea early
this month.
The North has also strongly protested the U.N. Security Council's new sanctions
against it, and has announced it will continue to bolster its nuclear capability.
South Korean officials said it is hard to predict whether North Korea will take
part in the upcoming forum.
"Personally, I doubt that it will participate. The North Koreans are well aware
that they will only face pressure to stop provocations," a senior Seoul foreign
ministry official said, but he did not rule out the possibility that Pyongyang
will decide to join the meeting at the last moment.
He said the North may send a delegation of working-level diplomats, instead of
its foreign minister, as it did for the ARF held in Hanoi in 2001. Then North
Korean Foreign Minister Paik Nam-sun had notified host Vietnam that he would not
attend the session, citing "various domestic situations," just a week ahead of
its opening.
One positive scenario would be for the North's foreign minister to come to the
ARF and hold a six-way meeting with his counterparts from the U.S., South Korea,
China, Russia, and Japan, all of whom are participants in the six-party talks
aimed at ending the North's nuclear program, the Seoul official said. If such a
meeting were held, it would provide fresh momentum to troubled efforts to restart
the Beijing-based negotiations.
The six countries held an unprecedented separate gathering of their top diplomats
on the sidelines of the ARF in Singapore last year.
South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said last week that if the North
refuses to join the six-way talks, the other five nations could consider holding
their own meeting. China has reacted coolly to that idea, reiterating the
importance of maintaining the six-way format.
The ARF is one of just a handful of international meetings in which the reclusive
North regularly takes part. It first joined the forum in 2000.
The meeting provides North Korea's foreign minister with a rare opportunity to
mingle with his counterparts from not only the ASEAN countries but also its 10
dialogue partners -- Australia, Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, India, the
European Union, New Zealand, the U.S. and Russia. The other participants are
Mongolia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, East Timor and Papua New Guinea.
The Thai official said all the countries except North Korea have confirmed their
participation in the upcoming session.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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