South Korea to hold meeting of diplomatic missions next week
South Korea will open an annual meeting of its top envoys abroad next week with a focus on strengthening its diplomacy amid geopolitical challenges, the foreign ministry said on Thursday.
North Korea rejected an invite for its leader Kim Jong-un to attend a deliberate summit in Seoul with Southeast Asian nations subsequent week, saying “now is not the time” on account of strained ties, according to reports on Thursday.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in dispatched a call for participation to Kim earlier this month with a proposal for an envoy to attend if he was unable to take part within the occasion, the official KCNA information company stated.
Moon will host leaders of the Affiliation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) within the South Korean port metropolis of Busan subsequent week to rejoice the 30th anniversary of their partnership, and has stated Kim may be part of them.
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While thanking Seoul for the invitation, North Korea requested the South’s “understanding that we could not find any legitimate reason” for Kim to participate, KCNA said.
The statement accused South Korea of harming relations by depending on the United States in resolving inter-Korean issues.
However, there was no important progress amid tightening sanctions aimed at the North’s nuclear and missile programmes, and lacklustre denuclearisation talks between Pyongyang and Washington.
Earlier this year, Moon had said that the most ASEAN member states not only lie by the sea but also possess infinite wisdom and power stemming from the sea. Among these, ASEAN’s openness and inclusiveness are particularly astounding.
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