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(News Focus) S. Korea seeks deeper regional partnerships at ASEAN meetings amid fragmented global order
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun sought to deepen cooperati... This will let Google show news articles that match or are related to your search MANILA, July 24 -- Foreign Minister Cho Hyun sought to deepen cooperation with regional partners during a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led meetings in the Philippines this week, as Seoul has faced mounting security and economic challenges stemming from the Middle East conflict and North Korea.
- But Cho's two-day visit to Manila, which concluded Thursday, also laid bare an increasingly divided regional landscape, with Pyongyang absent from the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) for the second consecutive year and no meaningful exchanges taking place between South Korea and either China or Russia.
- Foreign Minister Cho Hyun moves to attend the Korea-ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Manila on July 22, 2026. Cho attended a series of ASEAN-related meetings, including the South Korea-ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting, the ASEAN Plus Three (APT) foreign ministers' meeting, the ARF and the East Asia Summit (EAS) foreign ministers' meeting, while also holding bilateral talks with regional partners.
- The discussions, however, took place without North Korea's participation.
But Cho's two-day visit to Manila, which concluded Thursday, also laid bare an increasingly divided regional landscape, with Pyongyang absent from the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) for the second consecutive year and no meaningful exchanges taking place between South Korea and either China or Russia. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun moves to attend the Korea-ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Manila on July 22, 2026. Cho attended a series of ASEAN-related meetings, including the South Korea-ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting, the ASEAN Plus Three (APT) foreign ministers' meeting, the ARF and the East Asia Summit (EAS) foreign ministers' meeting, while also holding bilateral talks with regional partners. Throughout the gatherings, Cho reaffirmed Seoul's commitment to pursuing peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula and continuing efforts to resume dialogue with Pyongyang "with patience."
Source: Yonhap