The foreign ministers from the six participating countries of the now-stalled six-way nuclear talks will all be in the Philippines from this weekend.
 
According to a diplomatic source on Friday, the foreign ministers of South and North Korea, the U.S., China, Japan and Russia are set to arrive in Manila to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum(ARF) Foreign Minister’s Meeting scheduled to open Monday. On the sidelines of the regional gathering, the ministers are also set to hold a series of bilateral meetings.
 
In particular, North Korea and the U.S. are expected to exchange heated words over the North’s launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles(ICBM) and its continuous nuclear ambitions.
 
The U.S. is likely to further apply pressure on the North as it has revealed intentions to launch discussions on suspending the North’s ARF membership.
 
The North, on its part, is expected to reiterate claims that it has no choice but to pursue the development of nuclear weapons and ICBMs due to what it calls Washington’s hostile policies against Pyongyang.
 

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