N. Korean FM draws media attention at regional security meet

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong was the focus of media attention at a regional security meeting in Kuala Lumpur Wednesday, amid signs the communist country is preparing another long-range rocket launch in the coming months.

Ri arrived Tuesday, two days ahead of an annual meeting of the 27-member ASEAN Regional Forum, which includes all 10 nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and all the members of the six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear program.

By bringing together the members to the long-stalled denuclearization talks -- the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the U.S. -- the ARF has set the stage for various bilateral meetings among the six countries.

In recent satellite imagery, North Korea appeared to have upgraded its rocket launch facility in Dongchang-ri on its west coast, fueling concerns the communist state will launch another long-range rocket in October to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of its ruling Workers' Party.

North Korea has conducted a number of missile and nuclear tests in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

After leaving his hotel through a side door, Ri arrived at the Putra World Trade Center, the venue of the ARF meeting and other ASEAN-led talks, for a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Pakistan and Russia.

Details of the talks were not immediately known, but both countries have diplomatic relations with North Korea.

With Pakistan, North Korea has long been suspected of exchanging missile and nuclear weapons technology, while with Russia, North Korea has recently sought to strengthen ties amid tensions with its other neighbors, including its largest ally, China.

Coming out of his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the 80-year-old senior diplomat did not respond to a reporter's question about whether he plans to meet his South Korean counterpart, Yun Byung-se. Last year, Yun and Ri shook hands during a gala dinner at the ARF meeting in Myanmar but did not hold talks.

"There's lots of time and lots to do, so don't be so impatient," Ri said as he got on an elevator.

Asked whether North Korea plans to hold a press conference after the ARF as it has done in past years, a North Korean official accompanying Ri said, "That would be likely."

Keen attention is also being paid to whether Ri will meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. (연합뉴스)