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Message: [QUOTE="Munyaradzi Mafaro, post: 50860, member: 636"] Top diplomats from across Asia-Pacific gathered in Malaysia Thursday for the region's biggest security summit. Trump's harsh new tariffs threatened to steal the spotlight from the annual meeting between Southeast Asian nations and major powers like America, China, and Russia. South Korea's new President Lee Jae Myung wanted to use the forum to show his country remains committed to regional peace deals. The talks came just days after Trump slapped a brutal 25 percent tariff on South Korean goods. He also pushed back his tariff deadline to August 1st while hammering Seoul with the punishment fees. First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo flew in to represent South Korea at the high-stakes gathering. He planned to attend multiple meetings focused on digital technology partnerships and green energy cooperation between South Korea and Southeast Asian countries. Park also scheduled one-on-one talks with Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore while preparing additional meetings with other nations. The diplomat will join Friday's East Asia Summit bringing together regional heavyweights including China, Japan, America, and Russia. He will also meet with five Mekong River countries during the packed schedule. North Korea looks set to skip the security forum for the first time since joining in 2000. Malaysia cut diplomatic ties with Pyongyang after the 2017 airport assassination of Kim Jong-un's half-brother. Park stepped in because South Korea's foreign minister nomination still awaits parliamentary approval. The meetings will wrap up with the ASEAN Regional Forum, the only security platform that typically includes North Korea. [/QUOTE]

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