The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is now making great efforts to expand and develop its external relations.

In the face of the present complicated international situation where high-handedness and arbitrariness wielded by some specific forces are proving more outrageous and power politics growing rampant, ASEAN is aiming at diversifying its external relations in order to steadily enhance its mainstream position and role.

This is echoed by the increased number of countries hoping for improved relations with ASEAN.

Its exemplary manifestations are that the 53rd Meeting of Foreign Ministers of ASEAN Member States held in early September in a teleconference mode decided in favor of the accession by Cuba and Columbia to the “Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia” and officially vested the status of ASEAN’s Development Partner in France and Italy.

Commenting on the fresh successes gained in improving its external relations through the said meeting, experts and world media appreciate that ASEAN makes consistent efforts to develop its external relations in a multi-faceted way on the basis of its idea and principle for achieving regional peace and stability as well as common progress and prosperity and that the international interest in and expectation for ASEAN are ever growing.

We extend support to the ASEAN’s endeavor to ceaselessly enhance its international position and role by steadily expanding and developing its external relations, and we also appreciate the achievement already made.

With its long-standing history and tradition of having developed the relations with the member states of ASEAN, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is steadily expanding and developing the relationship with ASEAN, as is required and desired by the ongoing change of the time.

The DPRK, which has started establishing diplomatic relations with the Southeast Asian countries since 1950s, has also been making continued efforts to develop relations with ASEAN.

The DPRK joined the ASEAN Regional Forum in July 2000 and acceded to the “Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia” in July 2008. The DPRK dispatched its Ambassador to ASEAN in July 2011 and presented to ASEAN a formal proposal on establishing the Sectoral Dialogue Partnership in November 2018.

ASEAN decided to continue positively considering the issue of establishing the Sectoral Dialogue Partnership with the DPRK at the Meeting of Foreign Ministers of ASEAN Member States held in Thailand in June 2019.

We hope to see a sound development of the external relations of ASEAN, so that they could contribute to defending international justice and to establishing fair international relations.

Jong Hyon Chol

Member of Korea-Asia Association