Southeast Asian countries and Indo-Pacific partners, including South Korea and the United States, have expressed concern over the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, calling for efforts to achieve "complete denuclearization" of the peninsula.

In a Chairman's Statement adopted Friday at the 32nd ASEAN Regional Forum(ARF) in Kuala Lumpur, participants expressed serious concern over North Korea’s growing number of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and other missile launches, as well as the rising tensions on the peninsula.

Top diplomats from the participating nations urged the North to fully comply with all relevant UN Security Council(UNSC) resolutions, while calling for dialogue among the concerned parties to achieve lasting peace and stability on a denuclearized peninsula.

This year's statement only called for the North's denuclearization to be "complete," omitting the phrase "complete, verifiable, and irreversible" which had appeared in ARF statements over the past three years. Some observers see the softer tone as reflecting the new South Korean government's more conciliatory approach.

The ARF is an expanded security forum led by the ten-member ASEAN bloc and includes 17 other participants, such as South Korea, the U.S., China, Japan, the European Union, and North Korea.

However, North Korea did not attend this year’s forum for the first time, amid strained diplomatic ties with host country Malaysia.