South Korean foreign minister Ban Ki-moon held talks Wednesday with his Indonesian counterpart on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum, proposing to adopt a declaration denouncing brutal terrorist acts.
Seoul's top diplomat reportedly said that the recent killing of a South Korean hostage was a wakeup call not only domestically but globally as well, and that the ARF should therefore take appropriate measures in the fight against terrorism.
Ban noted that despite the fact that the Seoulgovernment had no knowledge of who the captors were and where the killing took place, the government still bears indefinite responsibility for the tragic event.
On a slightly different note, Indonesian foreign minister Hasan Wirayuda said delegates to the most recent round of six-nation nuclear talks were to meet on the sidelines of the ARF foreign ministers' meeting slated for Thursday.
He explained that 'all or some' six-party talks delegates would gather after the ARF foreign chiefs' meeting.
Minister Wirayuda added that as far as he knows, North Korean foreign minister Baek Nam-sun would hold bilateral talks with at least four of the six-nation delegations.
The 11th ASEAN Regional Forum, the principal forum for security dialogue in Asia, is currently underway in Jakarta, Indonesia.