N. Korea's top diplomat to attend ASEAN forum: source

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SEOUL, July 20 (Yonhap)-- North Korea's new top diplomat is most likely to attend a major regional conference scheduled for early August in Myanmar, a diplomatic source in Seoul said Sunday, raising speculation of possible inter-Korean contact.

Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong, who assumed his post in April, is fine-tuning the details of his attendance at the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), which will be held in Myanmar's capital of Naypyidaw on Aug. 9-10, as well as for a visit afterwards to Indonesia, according to the source.

Ri may also visit Vietnam and Laos before going to Myanmar, the source said.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se is also set to attend the forum aimed at fostering dialogue in the Asia-Pacific region.

This year's ARF comes amid nagging threats from North Korea's nuclear weapons ambitions and growing territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas.

Ri is likely to arrive in Myanmar on Aug. 9 and attend the meeting the next day, before leaving for Indonesia on Aug. 11, the source added.

Some have raised the possibility that Ri may initiate talks with Yun as Pyongyang wants to participate in the upcoming Asian Games in South Korea.

Others, however, have said chances of such talks are uncertain given the chilled cross-border relations from Pyongyang's recent rocket launches.

Ri, a former ambassador to Switzerland, replaced Pak Ui-chun as the top diplomat of the communist country in a reshuffle of key officials. He is believed to have served as a guardian of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un when Kim studied at an international school in Switzerland in the 1990s.

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http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/yonhap-news-agency/140720/n-koreas-top-diplomat-attend-asean-forum-source

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http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/n-koreas-top-diplomat-to-attend-asean-forum-source/