South Korean FM open to talks with DPRK diplomat

A meeting between top diplomats from South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is on the cards in the Philippines over the coming days.

South Korea's new foreign minister, Kang Kyung-wha, said on Saturday that she was open to talks with her DPRK counterpart Ri Yong-Ho on the sidelines of an ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summit in Manila.

"If there is an opportunity that naturally occurs, we should talk," Kang told Yonhap News Agency.

"I would like to deliver our desire for the North to stop its provocations and positively respond to our recent special offers (for talks) aimed at establishing a peace regime (on the Korean Peninsula)."

Foreign ministers take a family photo during the opening ceremony of the 50th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum (ARF) meeting in Manila on August 5, 2017. /AFP Photo

In July, Seoul proposed military talks with Pyongyang but received no response. However, the newly elected government of President Moon Jae-in remains open to negotiations.

If a meeting were to take place, it could open a fresh communications channel between the neighboring countries amid heightened tensions over the DPRK's missile tests and nuclear program.

The US has said it would also seek to increase pressure on the DPRK at the ASEAN regional forum, which brings together key players in the Korean Peninsula issue: South Korea, the DPRK, China, the US, Russia, and Japan.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will attend the gathering.

The United Nations Security Council will vote on Saturday on a US-drafted resolution to toughen sanctions against the DPRK following its second intercontinental ballistic missile test on July 28.