South Korea Urges North Korea to Return to Dialogue at ASEAN Security Forum

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun called on North Korea to return to dialogue and cooperate on peace efforts on the Korean Peninsula, speaking Thursday at the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Manila, a 27-member multilateral security gathering that includes both Koreas along with the United States, China, Japan and Russia.

According to South Korea's foreign ministry, Cho told fellow ministers that peace and stability on the peninsula remain vital to regional security and prosperity, and reaffirmed Seoul's push to build a future where the two Koreas can coexist and grow together. He said such efforts require reciprocity, noting that progress "cannot bear fruit through the will of one side alone," and voiced hope that Pyongyang would respond to Seoul's sincere overtures.

North Korea did not send representatives to the forum for the second consecutive year, continuing its pattern of disengagement from the only regional multilateral security platform where both Koreas hold seats. Several participating nations raised concerns over the North's ongoing nuclear and missile programs, calling for denuclearization of the peninsula and full compliance with United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Inter-Korean relations have been frozen since late 2023, when Pyongyang declared the two Koreas "hostile states," effectively abandoning the long-standing framework of eventual reunification. Since then, North Korea has ignored dialogue overtures not only from Seoul but also from Washington, while deepening its military and economic cooperation with Russia and China.

At the Manila meeting, Cho also expressed South Korea's support for the newly adopted Manila Plan of Action, which charts the ARF's cooperative agenda for the coming decade, and said Seoul would expand its role by co-chairing several ARF working sessions, including on counter-terrorism and transnational crime.

Later the same day, Cho attended the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting, a separate 19-member strategic dialogue, where participants discussed tensions in the Middle East, the situation around the Strait of Hormuz, and disputes in the South China Sea. Cho emphasized the importance of freedom of navigation and a maritime order grounded in international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, while calling for a code of conduct that respects the rights of third parties.