CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- Far from being a Korean-issue pundit, the present writer would like to add some brief thoughts as he notices growing anxieties even further from the crucial zone of tensions.
The current imbroglio, although basically a problem of Northeast Asia, has also been affecting regions further south, in South and Southeast Asia. Here, memories of the murderous North Korean actions in Yangon in 1983, or the North Korean abductions in Thailand in 1999, or last year's incident of the freighter "So San," intercepted by the Spanish Navy in the Indian Ocean with Scud missiles sold by Pyongyang to Yemen -- to mention only a few examples -- have not yet faded from memory, creating waves of uncertainty.
It is, therefore, quite legitimate for the Asian Regional Forum -- Asia's security forum -- to try to tackle the North Korean issue in its forthcoming session. The framework may be appropriate, if not for in-depth discussions given Pyongyang's allergy to whatever exceeds the prestigious but elusive bilateral North Korea-U.S. dialogue -- at least for some unofficial contacts with Pyongyang representatives.