ARF Chairman's Statement Adopting 'Complete Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula'... North Korea Absent for Second Year

At the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), attended by foreign ministers from the Indo-Pacific region, a chairman’s statement that included wording on the “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” was adopted. This reflects concerns regarding North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, calls for implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, and urges denuclearization and dialogue. However, North Korea did not participate for the second consecutive year.

According to diplomatic sources on July 26, the ARF chairman’s statement containing these messages was released the previous day. This year’s ARF was held in Manila, the Philippines, over two days from July 23.

Through the chairman’s statement, the ARF expressed “serious concern that North Korea’s continued development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, in violation of relevant UNSC resolutions, constitutes a worrying development threatening peace and stability in the region.” It also stated, “The meeting called for the full implementation of all relevant UNSC resolutions and took note of the efforts by the international community to pursue the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula by peaceful means.” Furthermore, it emphasized “the importance of resuming peaceful dialogue among all relevant parties to achieve lasting peace and stability on a denuclearized Korean Peninsula,” stressing that “diplomatic efforts, including creating a favorable environment for peaceful dialogue among all relevant parties, must remain a top priority.”

The statement continued, “The meeting reaffirmed its readiness to play a constructive role in creating a favorable atmosphere for peaceful dialogue among the relevant parties through ASEAN-led platforms such as the ARF.” Despite these calls for dialogue at the ARF level, North Korea remained absent for the second year in a row.

The ARF is the only regional multilateral diplomatic platform in which North Korea has participated. Nonetheless, regarding the North Korean nuclear issue, the forum used the phrase “complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization (CVID)” from 2022 to 2024, but since North Korea’s absence last year, the wording has been somewhat softened to “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

The ARF chairman’s statement also addressed the South China Sea situation, expressing hope that “negotiations on an effective and substantive Code of Conduct (COC) consistent with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) would be concluded within this year.” The statement added, “The meeting emphasized the importance of restraint by claimant states and all other countries in undertaking any activities that could further complicate and escalate tensions in the South China Sea.”

Regarding the war in the Middle East, the statement “expressed serious concern about the renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran” and “voiced support for diplomatic efforts to bring about lasting and durable peace in the region.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.