The ninth Asia-Europe Meeting closed Tuesday with a chairman’s statement expressing concerns over North Korea’s nuclear issue.

In the statement, leaders attending the summit in Vientiane, Laos expressed concerns over the North’s nuclear and missile programs and urged for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

The statement also said that the world economy is facing serious uncertainties and stressed that in order to tackle such jitters, countries need to boost policy cooperation.

The ASEM leaders also issued the “Vientiane Declaration” which renewed their commitment to refrain from the act of threat or the use of force in any manner inconsistent with the United Nations charter and international law against the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of any state.