The foreign ministers of the ASEAN Regional Forum(ARF) have expressed “grave concern” over North Korea’s missile provocations, calling on the North to immediately and fully comply with its obligations under UN Security Council resolutions.
 
The Philippines, which hosted this year’s regional forum, issued the ARF chairman’s statement on Tuesday.
 
In the statement, the top diplomats expressed grave concern over recent developments on the Korean Peninsula including the most recent tests by North Korea of intercontinental ballistic missiles on July 4th and 28th, previous ballistic missile launches and two nuclear tests in 2016, which have resulted in a major escalation of tensions in the entire region and beyond.
 
The ministers also reiterated their support for the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner, called for the exercise of self-restraint. They underscored the importance of creating conditions conducive for dialogue to ease tensions.
 
The ASEAN Regional Forum, launched in 1994, is a multilateral dialogue of 27 members that seeks to address regional security issues. It is the only multilateral forum in which North Korea participates. 
 

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