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Why Asean nations are reluctant to put pressure on North Korea over weapons programmes
- Member states have been trying to improve ties with North Korea, as the possibility of military conflict with the US has subsided
- Asean sources said there are enterprises in the region that have exported goods to North Korea in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions
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In the year since the historic first US-North Korea nuclear summit in Singapore, Asean countries have become unwilling to get tough on North Korea, with some eyeing economic benefits from Pyongyang in the future.
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The 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have been trying to improve ties with North Korea, as the possibility has waned that Pyongyang will be engaged in a military conflict with Washington, jeopardising regional stability.
A few companies in Asean, meanwhile, are paying close attention to North Korea’s economic potential and they have exported goods to the Northeast Asian country to deepen ties with Pyongyang, even though such a move violates UN Security Council sanctions resolutions.
At their summit in Singapore on June 12 last year, US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed that Washington would provide security guarantees to Pyongyang in return for “complete denuclearisation” of the Korean peninsula.
But the two leaders fell short of a deal at their February 27-28 second summit in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi against a backdrop of the gap between Washington’s insistence on denuclearisation and Pyongyang’s demand for sanctions relief.
As denuclearisation negotiations have been at a standstill, North Korea has resumed provocative actions against the US, such as firing projectiles that appeared to be short-range ballistic missiles in early May.
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Nevertheless, Trump, who some analysts say wants to be able to tout results during his re-election campaign next year, continues to take a conciliatory approach toward North Korea, voicing hope to continue talks with Kim.
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