South Korea is pursuing a trilateral foreign ministerial meeting with the United States and Japan to discuss North Korea's nuclear stalemate and other issues of mutual concern, a foreign ministry official said Wednesday.
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha is to attend foreign ministerial meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) early next week in Manila, the Philippines. They include the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), a rare gathering attended by North Korea.
"On the sidelines of the ASEAN meetings, we are arranging a trilateral meeting among the foreign ministers of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan," a ministry official told Yonhap News Agency on customary condition of anonymity.
"We are pushing to hold such a meeting but the final timetable has yet to be confirmed. Finding a time that satisfies the three top diplomats with busy schedules is very hard," he added.
The meeting is aimed at strengthening their cooperation in dealing with the North in the wake of its recent missile provocations, he said.
Kang is expected to have bilateral talks with her counterparts from around a dozen countries on the ASEAN meetings' sidelines including Japan, the U.S. and China.
Keen attention is being placed on whether Kang will meet with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho. Though the foreign ministry here has not confirmed the matter, it has hinted that the door for an encounter remains open.
Last year, there was a brief encounter between then Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and Ri on the sidelines of the same ASEAN meetings held in Laos. (Yonhap)
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha is to attend foreign ministerial meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) early next week in Manila, the Philippines. They include the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), a rare gathering attended by North Korea.
"On the sidelines of the ASEAN meetings, we are arranging a trilateral meeting among the foreign ministers of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan," a ministry official told Yonhap News Agency on customary condition of anonymity.
"We are pushing to hold such a meeting but the final timetable has yet to be confirmed. Finding a time that satisfies the three top diplomats with busy schedules is very hard," he added.
The meeting is aimed at strengthening their cooperation in dealing with the North in the wake of its recent missile provocations, he said.
On Friday night, the North test-fired what it claimed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile, marking the second such provocation in a month.
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Kang is expected to have bilateral talks with her counterparts from around a dozen countries on the ASEAN meetings' sidelines including Japan, the U.S. and China.
Keen attention is being placed on whether Kang will meet with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho. Though the foreign ministry here has not confirmed the matter, it has hinted that the door for an encounter remains open.
Last year, there was a brief encounter between then Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and Ri on the sidelines of the same ASEAN meetings held in Laos. (Yonhap)
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