Jakarta, 11 November 2011

The Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr Surin Pitsuwan, today received the credentials from H.E. Ri Jong Ryul, Ambassador of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to ASEAN.

Ambassador Ri Jong Ryul expressed his honour and pleasure in being accredited as the Ambassador of the DPRK to ASEAN. He expressed his commitment to working closely with ASEAN to explore cooperation between the DPRK and ASEAN.

“I want frequent contacts with ASEAN and will do my best to further deepen DPRK’s relations with ASEAN,” said Ambassador Ri Jong Ryul.

In recalling his efforts as the Chair of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in 2000 that led to the DPRK joining the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in the same year, Dr Surin said he appreciated the DPRK’s efforts in deepening its ties with ASEAN.

“Now that the DPRK has appointed its Ambassador to ASEAN, I encourage the DPRK to take advantage of the appointment to meet and engage with ASEAN aiming at creating a better environment for the Korean Peninsula and the wider region, said Dr Surin.