ASEAN, regional partners call for 'complete denuclearization' of Korean Peninsula

Kuala Lumpur, July 12 (IANS) Southeast Asian countries and Indo-Pacific partners, including South Korea and the United States, have called for efforts to achieve the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula, a joint statement showed Saturday, as they concluded this week's multilateral gathering led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The chair's statement from the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), released Friday, also underscored the need to resume dialogue among concerned parties for peace and stability, a call that comes at a time when South Korea is seeking to improve inter-Korean relations under the new government of President Lee Jae Myung.

"The Meeting called for the full implementation of all relevant UNSC Resolutions and noted international efforts to bring about the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," the statement read.

"The Meeting ... stressed the importance of resuming peaceful dialogue among all concerned parties in order to realize lasting peace and stability in a denuclearized Korean Peninsula," it said.

The use of the word "complete" to describe the North's denuclearization contrasts with last year's statement that called for "complete, verifiable and irreversible" denuclearization - language seen as carrying a stronger tone.

The ARF statement released every year following the ASEAN meetings draws attention for how it reconciles the differing positions on key security issues among participating countries, which also include China, Russia and North Korea.

The changes in the latest statement possibly suggest Seoul's softer approach in its inter-Korean policy. Lee has called for easing tensions between the two Koreas and pursuing dialogue with Pyongyang, while continuing to respond firmly to the North's nuclear and missile threats in coordination with the international community, reported Yonhap news Agency.

First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo, who attended this week's ASEAN meetings as the top representative, highlighted these calls throughout the venue.

North Korea has severed all communication with the South amid the stalled nuclear talks, which collapsed without a deal in Hanoi in 2019.

The participating countries also again voiced "grave concern" over North Korea's increasing missile launches that destabilize the Korean Peninsula, urging Pyongyang to fully comply with all relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

The ARF is an expanded security forum joined by the 10 ASEAN member states, the United States, China, Japan, the European Union and other countries in South Asia and the Pacific, as well as North Korea.

However, North Korea did not attend this year's session, its first absence from the forum since joining the gathering in 2000.

--IANS

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