Looking Ahead: North Korea’s Institutional Engagements Within the ARF

By Gordon Kang [Senior Analyst, RSIS]


► Certain references [of the Chairman Statement] were also conspicuously policy-specific, particularly on the adoption of CVID – complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearisation – reinforcing a growing trend seen in Statements from 2017, 2022 and 2023.

► For North Korea, the ARF has served as a neutral and politically acceptable platform, allowing for strategic flexibility and extensive diplomatic access to articulate and legitimise its national policies.

► Initial steps could involve exploring mutually suitable and constructive areas for Track-II minilateralism, involving neutral regional stakeholders – such as Vietnam or Singapore – willing to engage North Korea on non-traditional security issues such as humanitarian and disaster relief (HADR) or climate change.


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