Two Koreas' foreign ministers to meet in ASEAN forum in Singapore
By YonhapPublished : July 27, 2018 - 14:14
The top diplomats of South and North Korea are expected to meet in Singapore next week, when they attend the ASEAN Regional Forum, an official here said Friday.
The South's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha plans to visit the city state from next Tuesday through Sunday to join the annual security meeting and a few other foreign ministerial sessions there.
Her North Korean counterpart Ri Yong-ho is also taking part in the ARF, according to the official who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity.
He said the government has confirmed Ri's participation plan through "diplomatic channels."
"(We) are hoping and pushing for foreign ministerial talks with North Korea (there)," he said. "No schedule has been set yet."
If held, it would be the first talks between the two sides' foreign ministers on the sidelines of the ARF since 2007, when the South was under the liberal Roh Moo-hyun administration.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will apparently participate in the ARF. Also to be present are the Chinese, Japanese and Russian foreign ministers.
Kang is likely to hold separate talks with Pompeo and more than a dozen other ministers there.
It remains uncertain whether the top diplomats of the two Koreas and the United States will sit together for discussions on denuclearization and the declaration of a formal end to the Korean War. (Yonhap)