JAKARTA ― Indonesia is keen to build a more substantive political, economic and sociocultural partnership with South Korea as it consolidates democracy under a new leadership and gears up for a special ASEAN summit with Seoul, Jakarta’s point man on the regional bloc said.

I Gusti Agung Wesaka Puja, the ASEAN-SOM leader at Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, displayed the resolve to play a greater role not only in the region but also in helping enhance relations between the two Koreas by, if possible, joining the six-nation denuclearization forum as an observer. 

Despite Jakarta’s historical ties with Pyongyang, it has been ratcheting up pressure on the communist state to refrain from provocative behaviors and to improve its human rights record, recently scrapping its longstanding principle of voting against any country-specific U.N. resolution on human rights in favor of abstention.

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong traveled to the Indonesian capital in August as part of his Southeast Asia tour ahead of the ASEAN Regional Forum in Myanmar. Puja, who served as his country’s top envoy to Switzerland during Ri’s ambassadorship there, indicated that Ri made an offer and there would be follow-up measures in the future, without elaborating.

As Seoul and ASEAN prepare for a commemorative summit in Busan next month to celebrate their 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties, speculation is rampant over whether Indonesia’s new President Joko Widodo will debut on the world stage. Puja expressed strong hopes for his participation but said it remains to be seen. But a vision statement, to be unveiled at the end of the event, would likely address the North Korean nuclear issue, he noted.

Following are excerpts from his interview on Oct. 27 with visiting South Korean reporters.

Q: Indonesia appears to wish to play a greater role in inter-Korean relations. What’s your assessment of Indonesia’s relations with each of the two Koreas?

A: We have a historical relationship with the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or North Korea) since our first president Sukarno when he had a very good relationship with Kim Il-sung, and the daughter of Sukarno, Megawati, also had a good relationship with Kim Jong-il. They also visited Pyongyang many times. So we’re trying to play this role probably not many countries can play, in which the DPRK can trust us as a friend. Certainly the visit of the North Korean foreign minister here to Jakarta was a sort of a return visit made by my foreign minister to Pyongyang before him.

We actually demonstrated to ASEAN colleagues yesterday how we’ve actually managed to play this role. We recalled back in 2011 in Bali when we chaired ASEAN. It was probably the first-ever opportunity that the representatives of the DPRK and ROK met, not only within the framework of the ASEAN Regional Forum, but we gave them an opportunity for bilateral talks between the ROK and the DPRK. … So Indonesia certainly wants to play more of a role in this respect. In the six-party talks, Indonesia wishes to be an observer if all the members agree and invite Indonesia.

Q: Is there a possibility for ASEAN and Korea to upgrade their diplomatic ties at the commemorative summit in December?

A: The strategic partnership between ASEAN and Korea is already at quite a high level. We appreciate the close bilateral cooperation and have agreed to produce future-oriented results. We now want to have a more substantive relationship with Korea in not just economic and sociocultural aspects that we’ve focused on, but also political and security areas. We’re currently working on a vision of the ASEAN-ROK strategic partnership to be introduced at the commemorative summit.

Q: Will the vision address the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula?

A: The details of the vision statement are being worked out currently with other ASEAN member states, so it will take time until its finalization. But I believe it does need to address the North Korean nuclear issue and we will discuss that. But the statement should also be acceptable to the DPRK so we will have more consultations.

Q: Will President Joko Widodo be present at the commemorative summit in December in Busan?

A: We have the responsibility to convince him of the importance because this is the first time for him (to hold a summit). For Indonesia, Korea is very important. I actually talked this morning with my foreign minister and I asked her to please convey to President Jokowi that as Indonesia is now the coordinator for ASEAN-ROK, it is very important for Indonesia that Jokowi participates in Busan.

Q: What’s Indonesia’s position toward the upcoming U.N. resolution on human rights in North Korea?

A: I worked in Geneva for quite a long time and I’ve been closely following up on the situation of human rights in the DPRK. And I also follow very closely up on the evolution of our position toward this resolution. In the past, Indonesia’s position was always against a country-specific position, meaning that if there is a vote on the resolution on the situation of human rights in the DPRK, we always voted no because in principle we’re against a country-specific resolution. We (in) Indonesia were also subject to a country-specific resolution in the past. For us, this is about interventions of a country on this particular sovereignty. And in the latest development, there has been an evolution of our position, lately instead of voting no to the resolution, take the position of abstention. We want to promote and also protect human rights all over the world.

Q: What are your expectations for Indonesia’s first female foreign minister?

A: We of course expect a lot in this turbulent world where there are a lot of challenges. I hope she can have good ears for the president.

By Shin Hyon-hee, Korea Herald correspondent
(heeshin@heraldcorp.com)