(LEAD) S. Korea to urge united response to N. Korea's nuclear threat at regional security forum

▲ South Korean Foreign MInister Park Jin speaks with reporters at Shangri-La Jakarta in Jakarta on July 12, 2023, after arriving in the Indonesian capital for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum. (Yonhap)

▲ South Korean Foreign MInister Park Jin (R) arrives at Shangri-La Jakarta in Jakarta on July 12, 2023, for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) S Korea-ASEAN talks

(LEAD) S. Korea to urge united response to N. Korea's nuclear threat at regional security forum

(ATTN: CHANGES dateline; UPDATES throughout; REPLACES photo)

By Chang Dong-woo

JAKARTA, July 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea plans to call for the international community to take a united response to deal with North Korea's nuclear and missile threats at this week's regional security forum, according to officials Wednesday.

Top diplomats from 27 Asia-Pacific countries and the European Union are scheduled to meet in Jakarta for a series of talks led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this week. South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin will also attend the event.

In particular, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the region's largest security meeting, will be held later this week in Jakarta. The forum is a rare international occasion that North Korea attends, along with all the other countries involved in the long-suspended talks aimed at ending the North's nuclear ambitions.

It remains unclear whether North Korea will send its foreign minister, Choe Son-hui, to the forum.

The meetings come as the North fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the East Sea earlier in the day after the recalcitrant regime warned of military action over U.S. spy aircraft operations earlier this week.

The North's first ICBM launch in about three months came amid tensions heightened by Pyongyang's tough rhetoric against the United States, a move seen as aimed at firming up internal unity and building a rationale for provocations.

Park is also expected to raise issues of North Korea's illicit cyber activities and concerns about the North's human rights during the forum, officials said.

On Thursday, Park is scheduled to participate in the South Korea-ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting and the ASEAN plus three meeting, which also includes China and Japan.

The following day, Park will take part in the East Asia Summit meeting, which involves ASEAN member states, South Korea, China and Japan, as well as the United States, Russia, India, Australia and New Zealand. He will then participate in the ARF.

During the ARF, South Korea will emphasize its resolve to implement its Indo-Pacific strategy introduced in November of last year and make efforts to earn an official endorsement of the Korea-ASEAN Solidarity Initiative, a core component of the Indo-Pacific strategy, from members of ASEAN, a senior foreign ministry official said.

The official added that South Korea will emphasize the importance of a united response to the unprecedented missile provocations and nuclear threats by North Korea that have been ongoing since last year while underscoring the need for international cooperation in blocking Pyongyang's illegal financing of nuclear and missile programs through illicit cyber activities.

According to the official, Park is also expected to express the government's opposition to any unilateral attempt to change the status quo in the region, and clarify Seoul's stance on issues involving the South China Sea, Myanmar and Ukraine.

In between sessions, Park could hold separate bilateral talks with his counterparts from Japan, Australia, the EU and Britain. Observers also say that a three-way meeting among the top diplomats of Seoul, Washington and Tokyo could take place on the sidelines of the meetings.

After arriving in Jakarta a day ahead of the start of the meetings, Park told reporters that the North was "challenging and provoking" the peace and stability of the international community through its latest ICBM launch.

"Besides the South Korea-U.S. alliance and trilateral security cooperation involving Japan, the international community, including ASEAN and the United Nations, must send a unified and strong message to the North," Park said.

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