South Korea, ASEAN Condemn North Korean Nuclear Test
By VOA News
01 June 2009
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have called on North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions and respect United Nations sanctions.
President Lee's office said Monday the leaders called Pyongyang's May 25th nuclear test a "provocation" that "seriously undermines peace and stability in the region and the world.
The South Korean and ASEAN leaders began a special two-day summit Monday in South Korea, on Jeju island, to mark 20 years of partnership and boost multilateral cooperation amid the global financial crisis. But North Korea's nuclear test last month and subsequent short-range missile tests moved that issue high up on the agenda.
South Korean news media Monday cited unidentified officials in Seoul as saying North Korea has moved its most advanced long-range missile to a west coast launch site, and could test-launch it this month.
The missile with an estimated range of more than 5,000 kilometers could reach the U.S. state of Alaska.
North Korea also renounced the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953.
The South Korean president's office said in a statement after the first day of the summit that Seoul and ASEAN leaders urged North Korea to return to six-party talks with the United States, Russia, China, South Korea and Japan. The talks are aimed at getting Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear program in exchange for aid and energy stalled after the last meeting in December in China.
ASEAN includes Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP.
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