Manila: Foreign Minister Cho Hyun on Thursday called on North Korea to respond to Seoul's offers for dialogue and join efforts to promote peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula at a regional security forum in Manila, the foreign ministry said. Cho made the remarks during the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), a 27-member multilateral security forum attended by the 11 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states and major regional powers, including the United States, China, Japan, and Russia.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the ARF is the only regional multilateral security forum in which both South and North Korea participate. However, Pyongyang was absent from this year's session for the second consecutive year. Cho emphasized that peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula remain essential to the security and prosperity of the region, reaffirming Seoul's efforts to build a peninsula where the two Koreas can coexist peacefully and grow together.

Cho stated that efforts for peace cannot succeed through the will of one side alone and expressed hope that North Korea would respond to sincere efforts for dialogue and cooperation. The minister also expressed hope that the ARF would continue to play a constructive role in promoting peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

Many participants at the forum expressed concerns over North Korea's continued development of nuclear weapons and missiles, while stressing the need for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and full compliance with relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions. Inter-Korean relations have remained frozen since Pyongyang declared in late 2023 that the two Koreas were "two hostile states." The North has not responded to Washington's calls for dialogue while deepening ties with Russia and China.

Cho also expressed Seoul's support for the Manila Plan of Action (2026-2036), which was adopted at the meeting and sets out the forum's direction for cooperation over the next decade. The minister reaffirmed South Korea's commitment to expanding its contributions to ARF activities, noting that Seoul will take part in co-chairing several ARF inter-sessional meetings, including those on counter-terrorism and transnational crime.