Jakarta. Indonesia and North Korea agreed to explore “mutually beneficial” partnership when their chief diplomats met in Pyongyang on Saturday.

This marked the first time for an Indonesian foreign minister to set foot in Pyongyang in over a decade -- the last person to do so was seasoned diplomat Marty Natalegawa in 2013. Sugiono had made the trip at the invitation of his North Korean counterpart Choe Son-Hui. The envoy also attended the 80th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea during the visit. Jakarta said that the Choe-Sugiono talks mainly revolved around deepening bilateral ties, as well as that of ASEAN.

“Both sides agreed to explore new and mutually beneficial areas of collaboration,” a press statement by the Indonesian Foreign Ministry reads.

The talks saw both countries renewing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on establishing bilateral consultations. They would explore potential cooperation spread over political, socio-cultural, sports and even technical sectors. The government, however, did not disclose more details besides saying that the renewal reaffirmed the “enduring friendship and mutual commitment to deepen bilateral ties”.

Indonesia also offered to facilitate “closer engagement” between ASEAN and North Korea. Jakarta pushed for North Korea to engage in enhancing its participation in the security dialogue ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), according to the release. A chairman statement of the 32nd ARF showed that the Kuala Lumpur meeting had members expressing “grave concern” over North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile testing.

President Prabowo Subianto is about to wrap up his first year in office. The Pyongyang trip became another attempt made by Indonesia to be friends with all nations, on top of Prabowo’s frequent international visits. Prabowo had met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Beijing when Chinese President Xi Jinping invited them for a military parade. Official statistics showed that Indonesia-North Korea trade totaled $2.1 million between January and August 2025, down from $2.3 million recorded in the same period the previous year. In 2021, Indonesia temporarily pulled its diplomats from North Korea due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

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