Hong Kong (CNN) The North Korean foreign minister and US Secretary of State walk into a room together. The world isn't waiting for a punchline; they're waiting too see what Pyongyang and Washington's top diplomats will do when they sit down in the same room for the first time. On Sunday, Ri Yong Ho and Rex Tillerson will both be in the Philippines for the annual Association of Southeastern Asian Nations' (ASEAN) Regional Forum, a dialogue to discuss security issues which includes 27 countries. It's the highest-level annual encounter between North Korea and the United States, says Mike Fuchs, a former deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, and the first during the Trump administration.US secretary of state and North Korean foreign minister attending ASEAN-sponsored security dialogueTensions in the South China Sea will also be on the agenda
With the success of the recent _ missile tests, Pyongyang's diplomats could believe they have the upper hand at the moment.