Asean, two of whose members hosted the recent summits between the leaders of the United States and North Korea, can play a more active role in bringing them together again after the failure of their second encounter in Hanoi.

Some experts believe Singapore – which hosted the first meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last June – can even take the lead in Asean on this.

But Ambassador Ong Keng Yong, executive deputy chairman of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said yesterday that “our leadership feels that we are just a small country and should leave it to the bigger countries with more stakes” on the issue. He mentioned the US, China, Japan and even Russia.

“Our position is that it’s possible to do more Trump-Kim summitry, but using the Asean platform to do something constructive,” said Mr Ong, noting that the annual Asean Regional Forum is one of the rare few multilateral meetings that draw North Korean participation.