Thailand proposed Thursday that Southeast Asian ministers meet sometime in August to firm up its position on the protracted South China Sea disputes before meeting with China in Beijing in September, ASEAN diplomats said. Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Thailand's permanent secretary of the Foreign Ministry, told Kyodo News he circulated the proposal during the ASEAN senior officials meeting in the Brunei capital.

BEIJING, May 23 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's special envoy's visit to China is drawing international attention with focus being given to whether he will be able to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, diplomatic sources here said Thursday. Choe Ryong-hae, the director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, flew into Beijing Wednesday as an envoy to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. He met with Wang Jiarui, the head of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) central committee's external affairs department, shortly after his arrival.

SEOUL, May 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has been paying "close attention" to U.S.-led talks on forming an Asia-Pacific mega trade bloc, but it will not rush to join in on the discussion, Seoul's new ambassador to Washington said Thursday. Ambassador Ahn Ho-young, a seasoned trade diplomat set to take up the post early next month, also sounded a positive note on the U.S.-driven Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), saying it could help simplify the tangle of bilateral free trade agreements (FTA), which he called "the spaghetti bowl."

*** FOREIGN TIPS U.S. Government Urges North Korea to Free Jailed American WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- The U.S. government called on May 15 for North Korea to release an American citizen jailed there, saying Washington's top priority is to secure the safety of its nationals. "We urge the DPRK (North Korea) authorities to grant Mr. Bae amnesty and immediate release," Patrick Ventrell, deputy spokesman for the State Department, told reporters. "There is no greater priority for us than the welfare and safety of our U.S. citizens abroad."