North Korea rejects South Korea's invite to attend the ASEAN summit

The South Korean President Moon Jae-in sent an invitation to North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un on November 5 to attend the ASEAN summit along with other Southeast Asian nations. However, North Korea rejected the invitation saying that now is not the time to attend the summit due to prevailing tensions between the nations. 

Kim Jong Un might attend the ASEAN summit

The South Korea President Moon Jae-in will be hosting the ASEAN summit to be held in Busan, the South Korean port city. The summit will be held next week to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the partnership between the ASEAN nations. Jae-in hinted that Kim Jong Un might also attend the summit. 

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North Korea rejected the invite 

On the other hand, North Korea refused to attend the summit and extended its gratitude to Seoul. The local media reported that North Korea asked South Korea to understand the reasons behind North Korea’s refusal to participate in the summit. In the statement released by North Korea, it accused the South of taking sides with the United States on the inter-Korean issues and straining relations instead of resolving the conflicts. The statement read that its astonishing that South Korea decided to use such an unfit multilateral platform to discuss inter Korean relations. 

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US President Donald Trump's exclusive offer to North Korea

US President Donald Trump has always followed a transactional approach to his foreign policy where he bargained based on his personal interest. However, the problem is that his approach might not work with Kim Jong Un. Donald Trump in response to the senior adviser posted on Twitter which led to speculations that in the upcoming summit Trump’s offer to the North Korean leader is exclusive, where he asked North Korea to give up their nuclear weapons and receive sanction relief that will help North Korea in boosting its economy and turning into a luxury tourist destination. He also tweeted that he is the only one who can help North Korea progress and get where they want, but in order to achieve US support, Kim Jong Un must make quick decisions. 

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(With inputs from agencies)