South Korea plans to seek the international community's support behind the peace process with North Korea at annual gatherings led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) this week.

A Foreign Ministry official said on Monday that Seoul is consulting with participating nations to reaffirm international efforts for denuclearization and the establishment of lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The official said Seoul is seeking a global assessment of its peace efforts as well as sending the message that it is crucial for the North to return to dialogue. 

Four ministerial forums - the ASEAN-Plus-Three including South Korea, China and Japan, the East Asia Summit(EAS) gathering, the Korea-ASEAN meeting and the ASEAN Regional Forum(ARF) - will be held virtually from Wednesday amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ARF garners much attention every year as it is the only multilateral consultative body that includes North Korea, but the North has yet to notify this year's chair country Vietnam about its plans to participate.