North Korean diplomacy in ASEAN

North Korean foreign minister Ri Su-yong made his debut on Asia's biggest diplomatic stage at Myanmar capital of Naypyitaw on August 10. Ri, 79, who was appointed in April, attended the 21st ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), followed by visits to four neighboring Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries: Vietnam, Laos, Singapore and Indonesia. Ri, a career diplomat with more than 40 years experience , was known as a 'minder' of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un when he studied at the international school in Switzerland in the 1990s. After Kim rose to become the North Korean leader in December 2011, Ri served as ambassador to Switzerland. Later he was appointed as foreign minister after the power reshuffle, which saw the persecution of the National Defence Commission vice-chairman Jang Sung-taek, the number two man in the Kim Jong-il regime.

"It's Ri's first attendance at an international forum as foreign minister. So there's high media attention on the North and South Korean two new foreign ministers' meeting with diplomats from the region," BaekSeong-taek the South Korean ambassador to ASEAN told Tempo English two weeks ago. During the ARF meeting, Ri held talks with representatives from Japan, Malaysia, China, Mongolia, and Burma, but did not sit down with his South Korean counterpart, Yun Byung-se.