Seoul: Southeast Asian countries and Indo-Pacific partners, including South Korea and the United States, have called for efforts to achieve the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula, a joint statement showed, as they concluded this week's multilateral gathering led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The chair's statement from the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), released Friday, also underscored the need to resume dialogue among concerned parties for peace and stability, a call that comes at a time when South Korea is seeking to improve inter-Korean relations under the new government of President Lee Jae Myung.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the meeting called for the full implementation of all relevant UNSC Resolutions and noted international efforts to bring about the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The statement emphasized the importance of resuming peaceful dialogue among all concerned parties to achieve lasting peace and stability in a denuclearized Korean Peninsula.

The use of the word "complete" to describe the North's denuclearization contrasts with last year's statement that called for "complete, verifiable and irreversible" denuclearization. This change suggests a possible shift in Seoul's approach to its inter-Korean policy. President Lee has advocated for easing tensions and pursuing dialogue with Pyongyang while maintaining a firm response to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats in coordination with the international community.

First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo, who attended this week's ASEAN meetings as the top representative, highlighted these calls throughout the venue. Despite South Korea's efforts, North Korea has severed all communication with the South amid stalled nuclear talks, which collapsed without a deal in Hanoi in 2019.

The participating countries also voiced "grave concern" over North Korea's increasing missile launches that destabilize the Korean Peninsula, urging Pyongyang to fully comply with all relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions. The ARF, an expanded security forum, includes the 10 ASEAN member states, the United States, China, Japan, the European Union, and other countries in South Asia and the Pacific, as well as North Korea. However, North Korea did not attend this year's session, marking its first absence from the forum since joining in 2000.