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“Lavrov, we prepared Durian you like as a dessert.”

Malaysia, Mohammed Hassan, made a joke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Labrov at the dinner at the ASEAN (ASEAN, Southeast Asian National Union) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 10th (local time). Durian is a tropical fruit with a rich texture and a unique smell. It is enjoyed in Malaysia, and it is said to have been prepared for dinner.

This year, the Foreign Minister of Malaysia, the chairman of the ASEAN Conference, caught the eye of Labrov’s preference in advance and joked with the opportunity to catch the microphone at the dinner. It may be a joke that Mohammed, a politician, threw without any intention to create an atmosphere as a minister of the country. However, some analysts say that ASEAN is a subtle change in the attitude toward Russian Foreign Minister.

Lavrov, who attended the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, had been alienated. At the plenary session of the ASEAN Regional Security Forum (ARF) held in Laos Vientiane last July, Lavrov was sitting alone and almost failed to talk with other representatives. In July of last year, ARF in Jakarta, Indonesia, said that there were few diplomatic ministers talking to Labrov.

However, this year, the members of the member country gathered in one place, and they were considered not only the camera’s spotlight but also the chairman of the country. In response to Mohamed’s joke, Labrov said that he responded with a smile.

A lot of attention was also focused on the bilateral talks between Secretary Lavrov and US Secretary of State Mako Rubio. In the US, Russia and other reporters, both ministers entered the talks without any remarks. After about 50 minutes of talks, Rubio said, “I had a honest conversation,” he said. “We discussed a new approach (related to Ukraine).” The meeting was also attended by the US State Secretary of State Alison Hooker, a representative ‘Korean Tong’. However, Huker did not answer any questions of the JoongAng Ilbo after the meeting.

Russia has recently insisted that it has completely occupied Ukraine East Luhansk, and has continued its strong mode by strengthening its offensive throughout Ukraine. North Korean troops are also likely to be carried out soon, while the Ukrainian ceasefire problem is also an important issue for South Korea, which has virtually became a war party due to the dispatch of North Korean troops.

The issue of North Korea -Russia military cooperation is expected to be discussed at the ARF held on November 11 (local time). However, North Korea was absent this year by ARF, the only multilateral agreement in the region. This is the first time since North Korea joined ARF in 2000. Most of all, Malaysia and North Korea were united.

In ASEAN, if there is no diplomatic relations with the chairman, it is said that it is customary not to invite even ARF members. North Korea and Malaysia have been cooled since the Kim Jong -nam assassination in 2019, and in 2021, Malaysia had been expelled to North Korean businessmen who violated sanctions against North Korea.

North Korea has held a diplomatic war every year to reduce the level of expressions that condemn the North Korean nuclear issue in the statement of the chairman of the ARF meeting. In February 2019, after the breakdown of the North Korea -US summit, the Ambassador ARF and the owner of the owner of ARF were sent to the chief representative. However, this time, it is interesting to change in North Korea’s texts, while it was the first time in history. Until last year, ARF’s statement included ‘CVID’, or ‘complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization’ related to the North Korean nuclear issue.

Earlier, the South Korean government has also persuaded its member states to clearly include urging denuclearization to the chairman’s statement as a direct party to the North Korean nuclear issue. However, there are some observations that the Lee Jae -myung administration will weigh on dialogue with North Korea.

Park Hyun -joo ([email protected])