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Saturday, April 29, 2017
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MANILA – Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) foreign ministers on Friday expressed “grave concern” over North Korea’s nuclear tests and subsequent missile launches, saying it causes “instability” in the region.
“Asean is mindful that instability in the Korean Peninsula seriously impacts the region and beyond,” the ministers said in a statement at end of their meeting hosted by the Philippines – this year’s chairman of the 10-member regional bloc.
Asean groups Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. A summit of leaders on Saturday will cap the four-day high-level meetings where a chairman’s statement by President Rodrigo Duterte containing a paragraph on North Korea will also be issued.
In their statement, Asean ministers urged all parties concerned “to exercise self-restraint in order to de-escalate the tension and refrain from actions that may aggravate the situation.”
North Korea has conducted five nuclear tests and a series of missile tests in recent months, including one this month.
While many have failed, Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal poses a great threat to mainland United States.
North Korea vowed to retaliate against the US and threatened massive casualties in South Korea and Japan and American troops stationed in the two countries should there be direct military action by Washington.
With around 40,000 Filipino workers in the Korean Peninsula, tensions in the region had long been a concern for the Philippine government, which is also dealing with long-running conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly Syria and Libya, where thousands of Filipinos refusing to return home due to lack of economic opportunities back home.
In an unprecedented move, North Korea’s non-resident envoy to the Philippines, who is based in Bangkok, met with Philippine officials several days before the Asean meetings, government sources told GMA News Online.
In that meeting, Pyongyang’s envoy appealed to the Philippines not to put North Korea under pressure during an Asean security forum in Manila in August, which will be attended US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
In the interest of maintaining international peace and security, Asean ministers strongly urged North Korea to comply fully with its obligations to United Nations Security Council Resolutions and international laws.
“Asean supports the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and in this regard, calls for the resumption of dialogue on the Korean Peninsula to defuse tensions and create conditions conducive to peace and stability,” the ministers said. (GMA News)
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