SEOUL: South Korea’s deputy nuclear envoy Lee Joon-il met with Thai officials earlier this week and called for Bangkok’s support in dealing with the North Korean nuclear issue, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Lee met separately with the deputy director-general of ASEAN affairs at Thailand’s foreign ministry, Bolbongse Vangphaen, and the director of international security at the National Security Council, Luejit Tinpanga, Yonhap news agency quoted the ministry.
During the meetings, Lee explained the North’s recent escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula, including its labeling of the South as a “principal enemy,“ and noted the importance of joint international efforts to deter Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile development.
He urged Thailand and other ASEAN members, in particular, to join such efforts, stressing the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is the only regional multilateral security forum that North Korea attends.
The two sides also agreed to enhance cooperation against North Korea’s cyber threats and to prevent the employment of illegal North Korean workers in the information technology sector, known to generate revenue for its weapons programme.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.–Bernama-Yonhap
