North Korean foreign minister refuses formal bilateral meeting with South Korean foreign minister
The foreign ministers of South Korea and North Korea met on August 3 at a dinner of a forum organized by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Singapore.
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| South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her North Korean counterpart Ri Yong-ho. (Source: Yonhap) |
South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha shook hands with her North Korean counterpart Ri Yong-ho, according to a photo provided by the South Korean Foreign Ministry.
"The two foreign ministers exchanged some quite candid views on the situation following the inter-Korean and US-North Korea summits," a South Korean foreign ministry official told reporters.
The official also said that Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho refused to hold a formal bilateral meeting with Kang Kyung-wha on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum.
Mr. Ri Yong-ho was quoted as saying that now is not the right time to hold such a meeting./.
