Top diplomats of the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have issued a joint statement expressing “grave concerns” over North Korea’s nuclear and missile development programs.

Japan’s Kyodo News reported that the ASEAN foreign ministers on Saturday expressed grave concerns over the escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula due to the North’s two intercontinental ballistic missile tests last month.

In the statement, the ministers urged Pyongyang to immediately and fully comply with its obligations under United Nations Security Council resolutions.

They also called on North Korea, as a member of the ASEAN Regional Forum, to help "maintain the Asia-Pacific as a region of lasting peace, stability, friendship and prosperity."

The foreign ministers issued the statement ahead of ASEAN meetings including Monday's ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila, the Philippines.

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