THE 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations is urging North Korea to denuclearize, amid increasing concerns over Pyongyang’s testing of intercontinental ballistic missiles, a spokesman for President Rodrigo Duterte said Monday.
“Asean leaders express grave concern on the latest development in the Korean peninsula and call for its peaceful denuclearization and early resumption of six-party talks and dialogue within the context of Asean legal framework,” said Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque, following the meeting between Asean leaders and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Manila.
Roque said the way to go for Asean leaders was “to result to (sic) diplomatic talks and negotiations” to de-escalate the tensions over the region.
In a statement made in Da Nang, Vietnam, Roque said Beijing had expressed for Washington and Pyongyang to talk, amid North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
Following President Duterte’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Da Nang at the sidelines of the 2017 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, Roque said China had assured it “wanted the issue to be resolved peacefully.”
China had stressed it continued to be “a responsible country,” and that it would implement the security council resolutions placing sanctions against Pyongyang.
Asean and Beijing’s position is shared by President Duterte, who earlier raised proposals for U.S., Japan, China and South Korea to sit down with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to tackle the Pyongyang regime’s weapons development and missile tests.
Other regional key players, including Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and US President Donald Trump had earlier agreed that ”dialogue for the purpose of dialogue“ was meaningless in resolving North Korean threats.
What other world leaders have in common is to work in close coordination to step up pressure on North Korea.
Duterte had earlier said it was only China “who has that kind of competence” to talk with Pyongyang about the “costs of a nuclear blast.”
The Philippine leader, who chairs the Asean this year, had apparently softened his stance since earlier describing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a “fool” and a “son of a bitch” who was “playing with dangerous toys.”
Also in the same meeting, Asean and South Korea have agreed on an Executive Report on the Progress of the Implementation of the Asean-Republic of Korea Plan of Action to Implement the Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity (2016-2020) and the List of Activities for the 2017 Asean-ROK Cultural Exchange Year.
Asean leaders also expressed desire for further economic trade, including liberalization between Asean and South Korea, Roque said.
In September, following the passage of United Nations Security Council resolutions calling for tougher economic sanctions against the North, Manila suspended trade relations with Pyongyang.
The reclusive country has made significant strides in its atomic and missile technology under Kim, who took power after the death of his father and longtime ruler Kim Jong-Il in 2011.
Since then he has overseen four of the country’s six nuclear tests and hailed atomic weapons as a “treasured sword” to protect the nation from invasion by the United States.
