N. Korea seen skipping ASEAN security forum for 2nd consecutive year

MANILA - North Korea appears likely to skip a major regional security forum hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for the second consecutive year, Seoul officials said, amid Pyongyang's growing focus on ties with Russia and China.The annual ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), set to take place in Manila later in the day, has long drawn attention as the only multilateral security forum that North Korea regularly attended and that brings together major powers, including the United States, China, Japan and Russia.North Korea, however, was absent from last year's forum for the fi…READ FULL ARTICLE