Asian Nations Caught in Tug-of-War between US and North Korea
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerso and North Korean leader Ki Jong-un.
Washington, 9 Sya’ban 1438/6 May 2017 (MINA) – For almost two decades, North Korea has looked to south-east Asia for diplomatic and economic and support while the so-called “hermit nation” was shunned in most countries other than its only major ally, China.
All 10 members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) allowed North Korean embassies in their capitals and invited its diplomats to join two dozen other nations in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), which meets each year to discuss security issues.
But the carefully nurtured ties with Pyongyang and its leader Kim Jong-un came under enormous strain on February 13 when a group of men believed to be North Korean spies orchestrated the VX nerve-agent assassination of Mr Kim’s estranged elder brother, Kim Jong-nam, in a busy terminal at Kuala Lumpur airport, smh.com.au reported.
Furious Malaysian leaders recalled their ambassador from Pyongyang, expelled North Korea’s ambassador in Kuala Lumpur and ended an arrangement in which North Koreans could enter Malaysia without first obtaining a visa.
Now, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has urged ASEAN foreign ministers to “minimise” diplomatic and other ties with North Korea to ensure “leak-proof” enforcement of international sanctions against the country.
Tensions between the US and North Korea have risen sharply in recent weeks after a series of ballistic missile tests, prompting dire warnings from the Trump administration over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.
Mr Tillerson made it clear during his first meeting with the ASEAN ministers in Washington that the Trump administration believed south-east Asian nations had served as conduits for North Korean activities that violated United Nations sanctions, officials said.
Washington wants ASEAN states to crack down on illegal movements of money to and from North Korea, cut the number of North Korean workers in their countries and restrict North Korean business across the region.
“North Korea in many countries has a diplomatic presence that clearly exceeds their diplomatic needs,” Patrick Murphy, a senior US State Department official, told reporters after the meeting.
Mr Murphy said, without providing specifics, that “considerable common ground was identified” between the US and ASEAN on North Korea, adding the assassination of Kim Jong-nam had “galvanised concern in the region”.
ASEAN call for restraint
Just days before the Washington meeting, ASEAN leaders who had gathered in Manila rejected an appeal by North Korea to support Pyongyang in its dispute with the US.
North Korea had pleaded for help from ASEAN to prevent what it called a “nuclear holocaust”.
Speaking on behalf of ASEAN leaders, Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte urged the US to show restraint towards North Korea, saying Mr Kim “wants to end the world”.
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said ASEAN needed to be “strong and united” in dealing with North Korea. (T/RS5/RS1)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
