Diplomacy ramping up elsewhere in the region this week.<br />The annual ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting is underway in Singapore. <br />It began on Monday, bringing together not only the top diplomats of the 10 ASEAN states... but their key partners from South Korea, China, Japan and the U.S.<br />They'll be discussing issues of regional and global importance,... with extra attention this year on the two Koreas and the U.S.<br />Lee Ji-won has this report. <br /> The seven-day ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting and Related Meetings is expected to cover a wide range of regional and international issues.<br /> But among them the hot topic for this year, is likely to be the latest developments surrounding the Korean Peninsula and northeast Asia.<br /><br />The ASEAN Regional Forum, one of the major sessions at the annual meeting,... is the only multi-party regional security forum that North Korea partakes in,... and as such, Pyongyang's foreign minister Ri Yong-ho is to attend the event as well.<br /> And with Seoul's foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha and Washington's Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to be in the city-state this week as well, the focus is on whether these three diplomats will meet and make progress in the June 12 agreement between North Korea and the U.S..<br /><br /> The leaders of North Korea and the U.S. met in Singapore just over a month ago to hold a historic and unprecedented summit, where the two sides promised to work on improving ties and achieve North Korea's denuclearization.<br /><br /> While Seoul's foreign ministry says organizing a three-way meeting is still under work, anticipation is building up on whether Kang and Ri would meet, marking the first foreign ministerial meeting between Seoul and Pyongyang in 11 years. <br /><br /> Foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha will be heading to the island state on Tuesday afternoon, and she is expected to join in 5 sessions, including the ASEAN plus three meeting. <br /> Minister Kang is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks on the sidelines with the majority of the ASEAN member states to discuss ways to boost economic cooperation and regional security. <br />Lee Ji-won, Arirang News.<br />
