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Cebu (AFP): Southeast Asian nations urged North Korea Sunday to cancel any plans for a second nuclear test and to address the world's humanitarian concerns about the secretive country. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations urged North Korea to “desist from conducting further nuclear tests,” implement a de-nuclearisation deal it agreed in 2005 and rejoin the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
“We emphasised that DPRK (North Korea) must effectively address the humanitarian concerns of the international community,” they said in a statement after their annual summit.
Leaders of the 10-nation group backed six-party talks on North Korea and said the international community “must convey in clear terms to the DPRK that the latter must denuclearise in a verifiable manner.”
The leaders reaffirmed support for UN sanctions imposed after the North's missile tests in July and its nuclear test on October 9.
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo, in comments at ASEAN's summit with South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun, called for unanimity in urging the North to respond to humanitarian concerns, including the plight of abductees.
Japan has pushed North Korea to account for citizens who were abducted in the 1970s and 1980s to train the North's spies in language and customs.
South Korea says 485 of its citizens have been kidnapped since the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War.
Amid recent reports that North Korea is preparing for a possible second nuclear test, Arroyo expressed “great concern” at developments.
Analysts believe any repeat test depends on the outcome of the six-nation negotiations as well as of separate talks on lifting US financial sanctions.
At a six-party session in September 2005, the North agreed in principle to scrap its atomic programmes in exchange for economic and energy benefits and security guarantees.
But it boycotted the forum two months later in protest at the US financial sanctions, which were imposed for alleged money-laundering and counterfeiting.
The talks resumed in Beijing last month, but ended without apparent progress or a date to meet again.
The nuclear issue is set to be a major topic when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, South Korea's Roh and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao meet on Sunday.
It will be the first three-way summit between the countries in two years.
