Southeast Asian nations yesterday urged North Korea to cancel any plans for a second nuclear test and to address the world's humanitarian concerns about the secretive state.
ASEAN urged North Korea to "desist from conducting further nuclear tests," implement a de-nuclearization deal it agreed to in 2005 and rejoin the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
"We emphasized that DPRK [North Korea] must effectively address the humanitarian concerns of the international community," they said in a statement after their annual summit.
Leaders of the 10-nation group backed six-party talks on North Korea and said the international community "must convey in clear terms to the DPRK that the latter must denuclearize in a verifiable manner."
The leaders reaffirmed their support for UN sanctions imposed after the North's missile tests in July and its nuclear test on Oct. 9.
There have been recent reports that North Korea is preparing for a possible second nuclear test.
But most analysts expect it to await the outcome of the negotiations as well as separate talks on lifting US financial sanctions.
At a six-party session in September 2005, the North agreed in principle to scrap its atomic programs for economic and energy benefits and security guarantees.
But it boycotted the forum two months later in protest at Washington's financial sanctions, which were imposed for alleged money-laundering and counterfeiting.
The talks resumed in Beijing last month but ended without apparent progress or a date to meet again.
The issue was set to be a major topic when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) met yesterday.
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