ID :
71353
Tue, 07/21/2009 - 16:55
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/71353
The shortlink copeid
N. Korean diplomats set to arrive in Phuket for regional forum
By Lee Chi-dong
PHUKET, Thailand, July 21 (Yonhap) -- A delegation of North Korean officials was
to arrive here later Tuesday to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), at which
they are expected to face strong pressure from other countries over Pyongyang's
missile and nuclear provocations, a diplomatic source said.
"The North Korean delegation, led by Amb. Pak Kun-gwang, is scheduled to arrive
in Phuket at around 4 p.m. today by way of Bangkok," the source said, asking not
to be named.,
An unidentified official at the North Korean embassy in Bangkok, contacted by
phone earlier in the day, refused to confirm the time of the delegation's
arrival.
Last week, another official at the embassy told Yonhap News Agency that Amb. Pak
will lead a five-member delegation, adding he is a vice foreign minister-level
official at Pyongyang's foreign ministry. Pak served as North Korea's ambassador
to Namibia and several other African countries.
The North's decision to send him to the ARF, an annual meeting of top diplomats
from more than a dozen nations, disappointed the host Thailand and other
participants who had hoped for a breakthrough in stalled efforts to bring the
North back to the negotiating table. This year's session is likely to focus on
North Korea, Myanmar, and the latest bombing attacks on two U.S.-owned hotels in
Jakarta.
The Thai government asked Pyongyang to send Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun to the
forum, saying it could provide a chance for Pak to explain his nation's recent
actions including a second nuclear test on May 25, and discuss future steps on
the issue.
The ARF, one of the few international meetings the North takes part in, has in the
past provided a chance for the two sides to have high-level meetings outside of
the six-nation nuclear disarmament talks.
In the previous session in Singapore last year, Pak had an unprecedented
six-party meeting with his counterparts from other members of the talks -- South
Korea, the U.S., China, Russia, and Japan.
In 2004, then North Korean Foreign Minister Paik Nam-sun had a 20-minute
bilateral meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell during the ARF held
in Jakarta.
North Korea has been sending its foreign minister to the ARF in recent years. In
an unusual case, it sent Ho Jong, an ambassador-at-large, to a 2003 session in
Cambodia amid Pyongyang's standoff with Washington. Ho is now Pyongyang's
ambassador to Kuwait.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to fly into
Phuket on Wednesday.
South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said North Korea and the U.S. are
unlikely to have bilateral contact during this week's ARF as the North has
dispatched a lower-level official.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)
PHUKET, Thailand, July 21 (Yonhap) -- A delegation of North Korean officials was
to arrive here later Tuesday to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), at which
they are expected to face strong pressure from other countries over Pyongyang's
missile and nuclear provocations, a diplomatic source said.
"The North Korean delegation, led by Amb. Pak Kun-gwang, is scheduled to arrive
in Phuket at around 4 p.m. today by way of Bangkok," the source said, asking not
to be named.,
An unidentified official at the North Korean embassy in Bangkok, contacted by
phone earlier in the day, refused to confirm the time of the delegation's
arrival.
Last week, another official at the embassy told Yonhap News Agency that Amb. Pak
will lead a five-member delegation, adding he is a vice foreign minister-level
official at Pyongyang's foreign ministry. Pak served as North Korea's ambassador
to Namibia and several other African countries.
The North's decision to send him to the ARF, an annual meeting of top diplomats
from more than a dozen nations, disappointed the host Thailand and other
participants who had hoped for a breakthrough in stalled efforts to bring the
North back to the negotiating table. This year's session is likely to focus on
North Korea, Myanmar, and the latest bombing attacks on two U.S.-owned hotels in
Jakarta.
The Thai government asked Pyongyang to send Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun to the
forum, saying it could provide a chance for Pak to explain his nation's recent
actions including a second nuclear test on May 25, and discuss future steps on
the issue.
The ARF, one of the few international meetings the North takes part in, has in the
past provided a chance for the two sides to have high-level meetings outside of
the six-nation nuclear disarmament talks.
In the previous session in Singapore last year, Pak had an unprecedented
six-party meeting with his counterparts from other members of the talks -- South
Korea, the U.S., China, Russia, and Japan.
In 2004, then North Korean Foreign Minister Paik Nam-sun had a 20-minute
bilateral meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell during the ARF held
in Jakarta.
North Korea has been sending its foreign minister to the ARF in recent years. In
an unusual case, it sent Ho Jong, an ambassador-at-large, to a 2003 session in
Cambodia amid Pyongyang's standoff with Washington. Ho is now Pyongyang's
ambassador to Kuwait.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to fly into
Phuket on Wednesday.
South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said North Korea and the U.S. are
unlikely to have bilateral contact during this week's ARF as the North has
dispatched a lower-level official.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)
