Let's start with the big ASEAN gathering in Singapore.
The Chairman's Statement of the 25th ASEAN Regional Forum was released early this Monday morning.
It calls for North Korea to completely denuclearize for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
Park Hee-jun has the details. Members of the ASEAN Regional Forum have jointly called for North Korea's complete denuclearization.
The Chairman's Statement released early Monday,... demands the North halt all nuclear and missile tests,... and to completely denuclearize.
And welcoming the two inter-Korean summits and the North Korea-U.S. summit held this year, along with their outcomes,... the statement also urged all relevant parties to cooperate in implementing the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration and the June 12 Sentosa Agreement,... to establish permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.
It added that ASEAN foreign ministers are prepared for dialogue with the North,... to discuss other unresolved issues, including human rights.
The statement, however, does not make any mention of CVID-- complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization, which is seen to have reflected North Korea's disapproval of the term.
And the rhetoric is much softer compared to last year's statement,... which expressed "grave concerns" toward Pyongyang's provocative and threatening actions.
The Chairman's Statement of the 25th ASEAN summit is likely to have reflected the recent positive developments surrounding the Korean Peninsula,... and the stark contrast in the situation compared to last year.
Park Hee-jun, Arirang News.
