Singaporean Foreign Minister Winds Up Working Visit to North Korea

Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan yesterday wound up a rare visit to North Korea, part of a three-nation diplomatic tour that also includes a visit to its twin on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula.

Balakrishnan arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday for a meeting with Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui. According to the North Korean news agency KCNA, the two leaders discussed “strengthening bilateral ties” and “exchanged views on regional ​and global affairs,” in Reuters’ paraphrase.

Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs was more forthright, stating that the meeting between Balakrishnan and Choe included “wide-ranging candid discussions on regional and international issues, as well as developments on the Korean Peninsula.”

Balakrishnan also “encouraged the DPRK to engage constructively with the region and keep channels open for dialogue,” the Ministry said in a statement.

During the visit, Balakrishnan’s first since 2018, the Singaporean envoy also met with Jo Yong Won, the chairman of the Standing Committee of North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly, who gave him an update on political developments in the DPRK.

“Minister Balakrishnan highlighted that amid ongoing global uncertainty, it was even more important for countries to maintain dialogue and communication to maintain peace and stability,” the Ministry added.

The visit coincided with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries,

Balakrishnan’s rare North-South “double” followed a visit to China between May 24 and 26, during which he met officials, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and “reaffirmed the longstanding and strong partnership between Singapore and China under the All-Round High-Quality Future-Oriented Partnership.”

While Singapore has on numerous occasions condemned North Korea’s nuclear weapons tests, and argued that its saber-rattling threatens the peace on the Korean Peninsula, the two nations have maintained an irregular pattern of high-level visits.

In May 2012, Kim Yong Nam, then President of the Supreme People’s Assembly, visited Singapore in an attempt to drum up trade and foreign investment. Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong followed in 2014, during a five-nation tour of Southeast Asia.

While Singapore cut trade relations with North Korea in 2017 to comply with new U.N. sanctions related to its weapons program, it has kept diplomatic channels open. In 2018, Singapore hosted the first ​summit meeting between Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un ‌and U.S. President Donald Trump.

In a social media post, Balakrishnan wrote that relations between the two countries “are friendly, built on mutual respect, and continued engagement over the decades.”

He added that North Korea remains an important member of the ASEAN Regional Forum, “especially at a time when dialogue and diplomacy are needed more than ever.”

Balakrishnan arrived last night in South Korea, where he is scheduled to meet with Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and other senior officials before returning to Singapore.

Given Singapore’s relatively good relations with North Korea and Balakrishnan’s visit to Pyongyang this week, the Korea Times argued, “the upcoming foreign ministerial meeting may serve as an opportunity for South Korea to gauge, if indirectly, North Korea’s interest in dialogue.”