Seoul is not currently planning to invite North Korea to participate in the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea, though the ROK foreign ministry said it remains possible for Pyongyang to join.

“North Korea is not a member of APEC and, in principle, is not eligible to attend the APEC summit,” the ministry said in a statement to NK News on Thursday. “However, in recent years, the host country has occasionally invited non-members to participate in informal discussions on the sidelines of the summit.”