ASEAN Regional Security Forum, Chair Statement Supports Achieving CVID on the Korean Peninsula

Foreign Minister Park Jin is attending the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Foreign Ministers' Meeting held at Sokha Hotel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on the 5th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-seop] The Chairman's Statement of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Foreign Ministers' Meeting included support for achieving the "Complete, Verifiable, and Irreversible Denuclearization (CVID)" of the Korean Peninsula.

According to the ARF on the 11th, Cambodia, the chair country this year, published a Chairman's Statement containing 40 items, including references to the Korean Peninsula issue, on its website. The statement specified, "We reaffirm our support for international efforts to achieve the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through peaceful means, including measures to promote an atmosphere conducive to peaceful dialogue among relevant parties by utilizing ASEAN-led consultative mechanisms such as the ARF."

The ARF is the only regional multilateral security forum that includes North Korea. This year, it was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on the 5th. ASEAN and the six-party talks participants?South Korea, North Korea, the United States, Japan, China, and Russia?all participated, bringing diverse voices. Typically, the chair country leads the drafting of the Chairman's Statement, which encompasses the discussions from the meeting and reflects the opinions of various participating countries.

The ARF expressed concern over North Korea's surge in intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests and ballistic missile launches. The statement mentioned urging North Korea to fully implement all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and to refrain from conducting additional nuclear and missile tests. It also called for "maximum restraint and the avoidance of any actions that could hinder the resumption of meaningful dialogue." The importance of continuous and peaceful dialogue among all relevant parties was emphasized.

Meanwhile, this ARF Chairman's Statement was adopted five days after the meeting due to issues such as the US-China conflict over Taiwan and the Myanmar situation. Regarding the Taiwan issue, it expressed "concern over recent developments across the Taiwan Strait that risk destabilizing the region and leading to miscalculations and serious confrontations."

Additionally, the Chairman's Statements of the East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers' Meeting, which North Korea does not attend, and the ASEAN+3 (South Korea, China, Japan) Foreign Ministers' Meeting also included provisions related to the Korean Peninsula. The statements adopted content such as "noting international efforts to achieve the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through peaceful means."