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South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun has urged North Korea to respond to Seoul's offers for dialogue and join efforts to promote peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, speaking at the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Manila on Thursday, according to Yonhap News Agency. Cho's remarks come as Pyongyang was absent from the forum for a second consecutive year, underscoring the ongoing stalemate in inter-Korean relations.

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Yonhap News Agency reported Cho's appeal, quoting the foreign minister as saying that peace and stability on the peninsula are vital to regional security and prosperity. The minister reaffirmed Seoul's commitment to a future in which the two Koreas coexist peacefully and grow together, while noting that such efforts require cooperation from both sides.

Cho expressed hope that the ARF would continue to play a constructive role in promoting peace and stability on the Korean Peninsulamars, according to the ministry's account of his remarks.

Key Claims

  • Cho Hyun called on North Korea to respond to Seoul's offers for dialogue and join efforts to promote peace and stability, speaking at the ARF in Manila, as reported by Yonhap.
  • The ARF is the only regional multilateral security forum where both South and North Korea are participants, but Pyongyang skipped the session for the second year in a row, according to Yonhap.
  • Many participants voiced concerns over North Korea's continued development of nuclear weapons and missiles, stressing the need for denuclearization and full compliance with U.N. Security Council resolutions, per the foreign ministry's account.
  • Cho later attended the East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers' Meeting, where the Middle East crisis, the South China Sea, and other regional security issues were discussed, Yonhap reported.
  • Inter-Korean relations have remained strained since Pyongyang declared in late 2023 that the two Koreas are "hostile states," and the North has not responded to Washington's calls for dialogue while deepening ties with Russia and China, according to Yonhap.