At the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) meeting that focused on security issues, the United States and North Korea pledged to honour their obligations under a six-country agreement to help North Korea denuclearise.

However, a South Korean official said North Korea’s foreign minister had later renewed a demand that the US end its tough policy on the communist nation.

Diplomats quoted North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chu from a closed-door session as saying that Pyongyang had closed it nuclear facilities, opened them up to IAEA nuclear watchdog inspectors, and now wanted to see reciprocal action. This included the US dropping North Korea from its trading ban list of countries sponsoring terrorism.

The US put North Korea on the list after the country’s involvement in the bombing of a South Korean airliner in 1987 that killed 115 people.

US nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill meanwhile said that his meeting with North Korean Foreign Minister Pak showed that the plan for the North’s denuclearisation was “falling into place”.

Fate of South Korean hostages

Also at the ARF, the fate of the 21 South Korean hostages in Afghanistan topped the agenda.

Ministers attending the conference condemned the hostage-taking, and reiterated that they sought the immediate and unconditional release of the captives. They condemned what they called the “brutal murder” of two other hostages.

South Korea and the US, however, have said they will not take any military action to help free the captives.

Deepening relations

Meanwhile, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Javier Solana said his bloc wanted to deepen relations with ASEAN nations, despite continued disappointment with Myanmar.

Solana said Myanmar’s military government continued to show reluctance to implement democratic reforms and free political prisoners. However, he said that the creation of a planned human rights council in the region could help push Myanmar to reform.

The EU is the second largest export market and the third largest trading partner of ASEAN countries.

Bird flu “still a threat”

Bird flu was another issue at the ARF, with diplomats calling on countries in the region to enhance cooperation with international health bodies in fighting the disease. They said bird flu “continued to pose a significant potential threat to countries in the region.”

27 different partners come together at the annual ASEAN Regional Forum. In addition to many different Asian nations, the United States, China, Japan, Russia, India, the European Union and Australia are also in the group. Sri Lanka was just inducted into the club on Thursday.