ARF set to back more N. Korean nuke talks

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) foreign ministers will urge all the participants in the six-nation talks to continue their dialog process to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis despite the fact that their third round parley in the Chinese capital ended on Saturday without any breakthrough.

"Although there was no breakthrough during the talks in Beijing, the dialog process itself is important and the ARF will support its continuation," M.C. Abad Jr., the head of the newly established ASEAN ARF Unit, told journalists on Saturday on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) in Jakarta.

An ASEAN Special SOM decided last month in Yogyakarta to establish an ARF Unit at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. This new unit will assist the ARF Chair with its day-to-day activities.

"The ARF foreign ministers will certainly discuss the subject (North Korean nuclear issue) but there is no final formulation yet," Abad said.

Indonesia, the current chair of both the ASEAN and ARF, has also expressed a similar view on the six-nation talks in Beijing.

"There is a general sense and belief that we have to support the six-party talks and there was also a similar sentiment expressed at the meeting (SOM) today," Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' spokesman Marty A. Natalegawa said at a press briefing after the end of the first day deliberations of the SOM.

"We have to show an expression of support and readiness to assist if we are asked to do what we can at ASEAN to promote the six-party talks," said Marty, who is also the director general for ASEAN cooperation at the ministry.

The third round talks were overshadowed by North Korean comments that elements in Pyongyang were determined to test a nuclear weapon.

But, the six nations agreed to hold a fourth round of talks in Beijing by the end of September and resume the working group meeting as soon as possible.

All the six nations -- North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States -- that participated in the Beijing parley are also members of the ARF.

The ARF will provide an opportunity for North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun to meet informally with his counterparts from South Korea, the U.S., and Japan during his stay in Jakarta.

During their first day of deliberations, ASEAN senior officials discussed on Saturday an action plan to boost security and counterterrorist cooperation in the region, and to prepare the agenda for next week's 37th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM).

On July 2, all the major powers in the world will attend the annual 11th ASEAN Regional Forum Meeting, also in Jakarta.

Abad said that the ARF would also encourage Myanmar to continue its efforts to achieve national reconciliation.

"We will encourage Myanmar to continue its efforts of national reconciliation and transition, including the lifting of restrictions on opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi," he said.