PRESS RELEASE
Department of Foreign Affairs
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No. 293; 13 June 2003
RP HOPES THAT DPRK WILL STILL JOIN ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM MEETING

Shortly after the Cambodian Foreign Ministry confirmed that the Foreign Minister of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea will not be attending an annual meeting organized by ASEAN, Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople said that while the Philippines regrets this latest development, he hopes that the Foreign Minister of the DPRK will still decide to attend the meeting.

Earlier today, the Cambodian Foreign Ministry announced that DPRK Minister Paek Nam Sun will not be attending the annual meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) on 18 June 2003 in the Cambodian capital. No reasons were given for the decision of the DPRK not to attend the ARF.

“The ASEAN Regional Forum is an important and unique confidence-building group and is one of the few international bodies where the DPRK is an active member.  This meeting would have provided a rare opportunity to engage the DPRK in peaceful dialogue,” the Secretary said.

The Secretary said that the situation in the Korean peninsula remains tense and every effort should be taken to maintain peaceful dialogue.  He said that, “while it is important to be forceful in our advocacy of issues, we need to make sure that we do not deepen any divisions or push away the very people that we hope to engage.”

“The issue of the Korean peninsula will definitely be discussed in the ARF.  This discussion would have been more meaningful and the exchanges more productive if the DPRK foreign minister was present,” the Secretary said.

In a previous statement, the Secretary said that one important step that should be taken is to remove the static in the lines of communication between the DPRK and the US (see DFA Press Release 280-03, 6 June 2003). 

The Secretary believes that there has been too much heightened rhetoric and that there is a dire need for more sober and direct contacts.

The Secretary said that he intends to help bring more balance to the discussions on the Korean peninsula when he visits Pyongyang.

DPRK Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun personally invited Secretary Ople to visit the DPRK when they had a bilateral meeting at the sidelines of the Summit Meeting of the Non-Aligned Summit last February.  “I intend to take up this invitation and to hold discussions on how best to bring peace and stability to the Korean peninsula,” the Secretary said.

The ARF, which groups the 10 Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) with others such as the U.S., Australia and the European Union, is due to meet in Phnom Penh on Wednesday, June 18.  The current participants in the ARF are as follows: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Canada, China, European Union, India, Indonesia, Japan, Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Mongolia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Russian Federation, Singapore, Thailand, United States and Vietnam.