NORTH KOREA: Southeast Asian nations urged North Korea yesterday to rejoin six-party talks this week to resolve fears over its nuclear ambitions, offering to play host.
The Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) wants the six parties - the two Koreas, the US, China, Japan and Russia - to renew stalled talks on the fringe of an Asean-sponsored global security forum in Malaysia on Friday.
"We urge them to get together," Malaysian foreign minister Syed Hamid Albar said after chairing an annual meeting of his counterparts from the 10-member Asean grouping.
The six-party talks stalled last November with North Korea objecting to a US crackdown on firms it suspects of aiding Pyongyang in counterfeiting and drug-running.
However all six parties, including US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and North Korean foreign minister Paek Nam-sun, are to attend the Asean forum, where regional and world powers discuss security issues every year.
Dr Rice is reported to be willing to meet North Korea's Mr Paek as part of a six-party discussion. The five other parties all want the North to give up its ambition to develop nuclear weapons.
Asean ministers stopped short yesterday of condemning North Korea's July 5th missile tests, giving themselves room to offer the North a neutral venue. The tests brought world condemnation on the reclusive communist regime.
"We expressed our concern over the latest developments in the Korean peninsula," the ministers said in a joint communiqué.
South Korea yesterday sought separate bilateral talks with North Korea on the sidelines of the Asean meetings and also urged the North to resume talks.
"I have not received any firm confirmation from the North Korean foreign minister," foreign minister Ban Ki-moon said.
His North Korean counterpart and Dr Rice are due at the regional forum tomorrow.
The prospect of talks appeared uncertain yesterday after North Korea's state news agency called Dr Rice a "political imbecile" and news that state-owned Bank of China froze North Korea-related assets in its Macau branch.