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| North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong, right, enters the Putra World Trade Center to participate in the 22nd ASEAN Regional Forum in Kuala Lumpur, Wednesday. / Yonhap |
By Yi Whan-woo
North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong is drawing attention over whether he will actively interact with his counterparts from countries involved in the long-stalled six-party denuclearization talks during a regional security forum in Kuala Lumpur.
During the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in the Malaysian capital, Wednesday, Ri fueled optimism for possible foreign ministerial talks between the two Koreas as he told Seoul media outlets to "be patient" on the subject.
"We have enough time and I have a lot of things to do, so please be patient," he said after having a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the Putra World Trade Centre on the sidelines of the ARF.
The 22nd ARF, which kicked off Wednesday for a two-day run, is an annual meeting among 26 countries to promote security in the Asia-Pacific region.
It is also the only meeting that involves all members of the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program among a series of ASEAN-related ministerial meetings in Kuala Lumpur between Wednesday and Thursday. The six countries are the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia.
Ri tried to avoid South Korean journalists upon his arrival in Malaysia from Pyongyang, Tuesday.
Despite its refusal to give up its nuclear program, all eyes are on North Korea to see whether it will follow Iran's path and return to the negotiation table on denuclearization.
The six-party talks have been dormant since 2008.
Iran and the U.S.-led six world powers ― the United Kingdom, France, China, Russia and Germany ― reached a deal on July 14 to curb Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.
Ri is expected to hold meetings with his Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. It remains to be seen whether he will meet U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida.
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