KMS-3 to be Discussed at ASEAN

Senior ASEAN officials pose for a group photo session prior to the Preparatory Meeting of ASEAN Senior Officials (Prep-SOM) at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh today under the chairmanship of H.E. Ms. Soeung Rathchavy, Secretary of State of Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. (Photo: Kan Sona/AKP)

The DPRK’s launch of the U’nha-3 rocket and its reported payload Kwangmyo’ngso’ng-3 [KMS-3] will be discussed during ASEAN meetings this week in Phnom Penh.  AFP reports:

Southeast Asian nations will discuss North Korea’s planned rocket launch at a summit this week, ASEAN chief Surin Pitsuwan said Sunday, after the Philippines lodged diplomatic protests over the matter.

“The foreign ministers are taking up that issue tomorrow and the day after tomorrow,” he told reporters in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, where officials are preparing for a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

“I think we are all very concerned that any instability in the peninsula will lead to further possibility potential for (an) arms race, for nuclearisation of the region, which will not be good for the region as a whole,” Surin told reporters when asked about ASEAN’s position on the launch.

“And it will certainly affect trade confidence, investment in the region, including in ASEAN,” he added.

Pyongyang announced last month it would launch a rocket between April 12-16 to place a satellite in orbit, sparking alarm in the region.

The United States and other nations say the planned launch is a disguised ballistic missile test, and would breach a UN ban on North Korean missile launches.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said earlier on Sunday his country had filed diplomatic protests about the launch to Pyongyang representatives at the UN, in China, and in fellow ASEAN member states.

Del Rosario also said he intends the raise his country’s stance on the launch at the annual ASEAN summit, a two-day meeting which starts in Phnom Penh on Tuesday, though foreign ministers will begin talks early on Monday.

A top US diplomat has previously said that debris from the launch are expected to land off the Philippines, an archipelago made up of thousands of islands.

Gone Diplorellin’

DPRK Ambassador to Germany Ri Si Hong (Photo: Welt)

Among the felonies, misdemeanors and minor trespasses committed by the DPRK’s diplomatic corps, this may rank as one of the most memorable.  On 15 January (Sunday) police in Berlin caught DPRK Ambassador to Germany, Ri Si Hong, fishing without a license.   Spiegel‘s online edition citing Berliner Morgenpost and other press reports:

According to reports in dailies Berliner Morgenpost and BZ, Berlin police discovered a man fishing on the Havel River in the city’s Spandau neighborhood on Sunday afternoon. When the officials asked to see the man’s fishing license, he apparently responded by saying he was the North Korean ambassador.

According to the reports, the angler did not have any proof of identity on him, nor did he have a fishing license. The police then asked their colleagues to bring them a current photograph of the ambassador and his personal details. When they arrived, the officers reportedly confirmed that the man was indeed the ambassador, Si Hong Ri, who took his current position in September 2011.

The officers then apparently told the ambassador to cease his illegal fishing activities. According to the police report quoted by the Berliner Morgenpost and the BZ, “the ambassador politely acknowledged (the request) with a smile and continued with the offense.” The police were unable to do anything, given the man’s diplomatic immunity.

When contacted by SPIEGEL ONLINE on Thursday, a Berlin police spokesman confirmed that a report had been filed on Sunday but declined to comment on the identity of the person involved. Fishing without a license is a crime in Germany punishable with up to two years in prison or a fine.

Meanwhile, recently appointed DPRK Ambassador to Cambodia, Hong Ki Chol, met with the Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs (and Deputy Prime Minister) Hor Namhong on 13 January (Friday).  During the meeting they discussed a potential visit to the DPRK by Hor Namhong, as well as Hong Ki Chol’s attendance at the ASEAN Regional Forum [ARF] which will be held in Phnom Penh in July.  The Cambodian press pointed out that Hong’s meeting with Hor Namhong occurred two days after ASEAN held a closed ministerial meeting to prepare for ARF.

DPRK Ambassador to Cambodia, Hong Ki Chol (L) meets with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Namhong (R) in Phnom Penh on 13 January 2012 (Photo: Cambodia Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation)

DPRK Ambassador to Cambodia Appointed

Outgoing DPRK Ambassador to Cambodia Ri In Sok (L) meets with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An on 24 November 2011 (Photo: AKP)

The Supreme People’s Assembly [SPA] Presidium has appointed Hong Ki Chol the new DPRK’s new ambassador to Cambodia on 28 November.  Hong has previously served as Consul General in Hong Kong, among other diplomatic/MOFA positions.  Hong replaces Ri In Sok who had served as ambassador since 2007.  Ri In Sok has made several official visits prior to his departure.  On 29 November, Ri met with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.  On 23 November, Cambodian media reported that Ri met with the president of the Kingdom of Cambodia’s Senate (Protsaphea), Chea Sim, and later that day, with the president of its National Assembly (Radhsaphea) Heng Samrin.  On 24 November Ri met with Deputy Prime Minister Sok An.  During this meeting Ri discussed the DPRK’s construction of a culture and information center near Angkor Wat, a project under development since 2009 which includes two managers and some 60 DPRK experts and workers.  Agence Kampuchea Presse reports:

In a meeting on Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister H.E. Dr. Sok An told the North Korean Ambassador H.E. Ri In Sok that Cambodia’s Apsara Authority is working with North Korean experts to build the centre, which will serve as a welcome centre for tourists who want information about Cambodia’s Angkorian history.

Officials of the Apsara Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap are working with 60 Korean experts and concerned institutions to ensure that the building design will feature the cultural values of both Cambodia and Korea.

The building, 70 metres in diameter and 124 metres in height, will be decorated with artistic works and drawings. Korean officials say that the world’s biggest artistic drawing will be displayed at the centre.

Dr. Sok An, who is also Minister in Charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers, told the ambassador that the centre will represent not only the image of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea but also the good bilateral relations of the two Asian nations.

The outgoing North Korean Ambassador Ri In Sok, who is leaving Cambodia on Nov. 26 after a four-year term, told Dr. Sok An that North Korea wants unification with South Korea as soon as possible.

The ambassador was grateful to the deputy prime minister and the Royal Government of Cambodia as a whole for facilitating his diplomatic mission in Cambodia.

“I am pleased with the bilateral cooperation. I am pleased with the tremendous progress made by Cambodia over the past years,” said Ambassador Ri In Sok in the meeting.