THAILAND: SOUTHEAST & NORTH ASIA TAKE STEPS TOWARDS FORMING POWERFUL REGIONAL BLOC

Record ID: 208395

  • Title: THAILAND: SOUTHEAST & NORTH ASIA TAKE STEPS TOWARDS FORMING POWERFUL REGIONAL BLOC
  • Date: 26th July 2000
  • Summary: BANGKOK, THAILAND (JULY 26 2000) (REUTERS) 1. VARIOUS ASEAN PLUS THREE (JAPAN, CHINA AND REPUBLIC OF SOUTH KOREA) MEETING (5 SHOTS) 0.27 2. TRACK SOUTH KOREAN FOREIGN MINISTER ARRIVING 0.41 3. TRACK NORTH KOREAN FOREIGN MINISTER ARRIVING 0.53 4. VARIOUS NORTH/SOUTH KOREAN FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET/ SIT/ PHOTO OPPORTUNITY, SHAKING HANDS (4 SHOTS) 1.37 5. SV SOUNDBITE (Korean) NORTH KOREAN FOREIGN MINISTER (WHILE SHAKING HANDS) SAYS TALKS WERE WELL DONE AND SUCCESSFUL 1.46 6. CA MEDIA 1.50 7. SV SOUNDBITE (Korean) SOUTH KOREAN FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS THEY HAD SUCCESSFUL TALKS, DISCUSSED VARIOUS ISSUES CONCERNED WITH COOPERATION AND RECONCILIATION OF THE TWO COUNTRIES 2.04 8. MV SOUTH KOREAN FOREIGN MINISTER ARRIVING FOR DINNER 2.08 8. TRACK JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTER ARRIVING FOR DINNER 2.19 9. SV SOUNDBITE (English) STATEMENT BY CHOI COUNG JIN, DEPUTY MINISTER FOR POLICY PLANNING IN SOUTH KOREAN FOREIGN MINISTRY, ON TALKS, SAYING: "They exchanged views on how to implement the declaration and the spirit of the summit, and they discussed how to find the practical means to convey their views to each other." 2.56 10. MV ARRIVALS FOR DINNER, STROBE TALBOTT OF THE UNITED STATES ARRIVING FOR DINNER 3.11 11. WS/PAN/MV FAMILY PHOTO BEFORE DINNER, VARIOUS SHOTS (4 SHOTS) 3.32 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 10th August 2000 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BANGKOK, THAILAND
  • Country: Thailand
  • Reuters ID: LVA4UG46XI83XMEDM6UW1WXTN04C
  • Story Text: Southeast and north Asia took a step towards forming
    what could be a powerful regional bloc as the presence of
    North Korea at landmark talks put the spotlight firmly on
    security.



    North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun joined his
    counterparts from the 10-member Association of South East
    Asian Nations (ASEAN), Japan, China and South Korea for the
    first time on Wednesday (July 26) in a series of meetings on
    wide-ranging cooperation.

    Paek Nam-sun and his southern counterpart Lee Joung-Binn
    spoke of smooth progress since June's historic summit between
    North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and South Korean leader Kim
    Dae-jung.

    Officials said after the 30-minute meeting that many of
    the thorny issues that divide the peninsula had not been
    discussed, such as a proposed U.S. missile shield for
    Northeast Asia.

    The two men were meeting on the sidelines of the first
    formal gathering of foreign ministers from the group, known as
    ASEAN+3.

    The two ministers said in a joint statement they "agreed
    to cooperate on matters of external relations in the
    international arena so as to enhance inter-Korean
    reconciliation."
    Choi said North Korea had been encouraged to join or take
    part in a range of regional groupings, including the
    Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and the Asian
    Development Bank.

    Paek's arrival in Bangkok overshadowed most other issues
    on the agenda of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), which began
    on Wednesday with an informal dinner of its 22 member-nations
    and representatives of the 15-member European Union.

    The region has been inching towards a trading bloc in
    recent years and has agreed a string of financial initiatives
    to bolster its currencies and reduce tariff barriers.

    Hit by recession in 1997 after the devaluation of the Thai
    baht sparked a regionwide currency meltdown, finance ministers
    have already signed a pact to pool foreign reserves in the
    event of speculative attack on foreign exchange markets.

    ASEAN -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
    Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam --
    is also in the process of creating a free-trade zone that they
    hope will also be extended eventually to north Asia.

    But Wednesday's meeting added a political dimension and
    North Korea's attendance has put the focus firmly on security.


    North Korea has emerged from five decades of isolation
    over the last year and saw a historic summit between North
    Korean leader Kim Jong-il and South Korean leader Kim Dae-jung
    in June.

    The Bangkok talks mark the first time the North Korean
    foreign minister will meet his counterparts from South Korea,
    Japan and the United States.

    Cash-strapped Pyongyang is embarking on a diplomatic
    offensive to improve ties with its neighbours and try to
    rescue its economy, ruined by neglect and central planning.

    But Seoul, Tokyo and Washington want Pyongyang to abandon
    a missile programme that has caused jitters in Asia. North
    Korea told Russian President Vladimir Putin last week it would
    scrap its missile programme in exchange for help in exploring
    space.

    The United States is deciding whether to proceed with a
    multi-billion dollar National Missile Defence system to ward
    off attacks by small states not party to international
    treaties, such as North Korea. China and Russia have attacked
    the U.S. plan.

    Beijing, which argues North Korea's diplomatic opening has
    made the anti-missile umbrella unnecessary, has said it would
    press its opposition to the U.S. scheme at two days of ASEAN
    Regional Forum (ARF) talks due to begin on Wednesday evening.


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