ASEAN talks joined by U.S., China to begin with Trump's tariffs overshadowing

KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 (Yonhap) -- Asia-Pacific's largest security forum was set to begin Thursday as top diplomats gathered in Malaysia, but steep tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump are expected to overshadow the annual gatherings.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gatherings, joined by South Korea, the United States, Japan, China and Russia, are also expected to provide a platform for Seoul to underscore its commitment to ASEAN diplomacy and regional peace under the new government of President Lee Jae Myung.

The talks came days after Trump extended a tariff deadline to Aug. 1 as he unveiled a 25 percent "reciprocal" tariff on South Korea.

First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo will represent South Korea at the South Korea-ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting, where discussions will focus on strengthening cooperation in areas such as digital transformation and the green transition.

South Korea and its ASEAN partners are also expected to adopt five-year action plans aimed at implementing agreed-upon initiatives.

Park will also attend the ASEAN Plus Three meeting with Japan and China to explore deeper economic and regional cooperation.

On the sidelines, he is set to hold bilateral talks with Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, with additional meetings with other countries under preparation.

On Friday, Park will attend the East Asia Summit, which brings together ASEAN members and regional powers, including China, Japan, the U.S. and Russia. He is also scheduled to hold talks with the five Mekong countries -- Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

The series of meetings will culminate in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the region's only multilateral security platform that has included North Korea.

This year, however, Pyongyang is widely expected to skip the forum, which would mark the first time it will be absent since joining the ARF in 2000.

"We understand that North Korea will not participate," a diplomatic source said. "It appears to be related to ASEAN practices, considering the current state of relations between Malaysia and North Korea."

Malaysia, this year's host, severed diplomatic ties with North Korea in 2021 over diplomatic tensions that arose after Malaysia extradited a North Korean businessman to the United States for money laundering charges.

Their ties had already soured following the 2017 assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Since the collapse of nuclear talks with the U.S. in 2019, North Korea has been represented at the ARF by its ambassador based in the ASEAN region.

Park is representing South Korea in place of the foreign minister, whose nomination is currently pending parliamentary confirmation.

elly@yna.co.kr
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