ASEAN ministers called for early restart of six-party talks
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Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Tuesday expressed their concern about increased tension in the Korean Peninsula following a South Korean warship sinking and called for early resumption of six- party talks.
Ministers attending the 43rd ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting expressed the support for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and encouraged the parties concerned to resume the six-party talks as soon as possible, said the meeting's spokesman Tran Ngoc An at a news briefing. "The six-party talks will be a main solution for long-term peace in peninsula," said An.
ASEAN foreign ministers also expressed their support for the declaration of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) earlier this month on the Cheonan warship sinking, which cost the lives of 46 South Korean sailors, said An.
ASEAN foreign ministers extended condolences to the people and government of the Republic of Korea for their loss, said the spokesman
The foreign ministers called for parties involved to remain restraint, increase confidence and resolve disputes and disagreements through peaceful methods, said the spokesman.
The six-party talks involve China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the United States, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Japan. It is targeted at realizing denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and peace and stability in Northeast Asia.
The talks were launched in 2003 and have been stalled since December 2008.
