Kuala lumpur: First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo was set to depart for Malaysia on Wednesday to attend a series of multilateral meetings involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other countries, including the United States and China. Park's three-day visit to Kuala Lumpur is expected to underscore South Korea's emphasis on ASEAN diplomacy and reaffirm its commitment to advancing ties with countries in the region under the new government of President Lee Jae Myung.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Park will attend the upcoming meetings in place of the foreign minister, as the new top diplomat has yet to be formally appointed pending a parliamentary hearing. He will participate in the South Korea-ASEAN foreign ministers meeting on Thursday, where discussions will likely focus on strengthening their comprehensive strategic partnership, particularly in digital and green transition.
Park will then take part in the ASEAN Plus Three (APT) meeting, alongside Japan and China, to discuss cooperation on economic and other issues. On the following day, he is scheduled to join the East Asia Summit, which will include APT members as well as the United States, Russia, Australia, India, and New Zealand.
In addition, Park will attend the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), where he is expected to outline Seoul's peace efforts aimed at substantive progress on North Korea's nuclear issue and reinforce calls for international support. The ARF is notable as the only multilateral security forum that North Korea has historically attended. However, diplomatic sources suggest Pyongyang is unlikely to participate this year, due to severed ties with Malaysia following the 2017 assassination of Kim Jong-nam.
Since the stalling of nuclear talks with the United States in 2019, North Korea has been represented at the ARF by its ambassador stationed in the ASEAN region. Meanwhile, Park is expected to engage in several bilateral discussions with ASEAN member states on the sidelines of the meetings. It remains uncertain whether he will conduct one-on-one meetings with top diplomats from the United States, Japan, China, and Russia.