N. Korean foreign minister arrives in Jakarta
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
President Megawati Soekarnoputri's ambition to play a mediation role in the North Korean nuclear crisis is closer to being realized with the arrival of North Korean foreign minister Paek Nam-sun in Jakarta on Monday to attend a security forum.
The President can expect that playing host to a successful forum will give her a boost ahead of the July 5 presidential election. It could also improve her international image, with the foreign ministers of the six nations involved in the nuclear talks, including U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, scheduled to attend the meeting.
The foreign ministers are scheduled to arrive in Jakarta to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum (ARF) on Friday, which will be attended by the foreign ministers of the 10 ASEAN member countries and their counterparts from 13 Asia-Pacific and European Union countries.
After meeting with Indonesian foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda on Tuesday, Paek is scheduled to meet with the President on Wednesday, where he is expected to convey a message from North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, a longtime acquaintance of Megawati.
"It is an exciting prospect to have all of these foreign ministers here in Jakarta. We hope they can take advantage of being here to consult and meet among themselves," Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Marty A. Natalegawa said.
Following a meeting with Kim in Pyongyang in March 2002, Megawati assigned a special envoy to help resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis.
When asked what Hassan and Paek would discuss on Tuesday, Marty said: "We want to hear directly from Paek Nam-sum on Tuesday about the Beijing talks and what Indonesia can do to facilitate the process of the six-party talks."
Recent talks on the North Korean nuclear crisis between North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States made little progress.
Hassan is realistic about the prospects of the talks.
"Indonesia encourages all of the participants to be more flexible and forthcoming to find a solution .... We understand the critical issue here is the lack of mutual trust. The nuclear issue is relatively new, but the grounds for the conflict have been there for more that 50 years," Hassan told The Jakarta Post.
According to Agence France-Presse, a statement from the North Korean Embassy said Paek's visit was to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with Indonesia.
It said the visit would "mark an important momentum in further developing the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries".
The statement said Paek and Megawati would hold talks on further improving relations and "on other international issues of mutual concern".
Meanwhile, South Korea's foreign ministry said Paek hoped for bilateral talks with Powell on the sidelines of the ARF meeting. The ministry also confirmed that Paek would meet with South Korean foreign minister Ban Ki-moon for talks on Thursday,
"Paek also wants to meet with Powell and separately with Japanese foreign minister Yoriko Kawaguchi," a ministry official said.