RP supports latest moves to resolve Korean tension

The Philippines supports the move of Cambodia to initiate a dialogue with North Korea this week to bring peace and stability to the Korean Peninsula, Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople said yesterday.

Ople said Manila supports the scheduled visit of Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong to North Korea, which has withdrawn from an international treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Namhong is chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum (ARF).

Ople said Manila is encouraging peaceful dialogue between North and South Korea despite the impasse between North Korea and the United States during talks on nuclear weapons in Beijing last week.

"On our part, as a country and as a member of ASEAN, ARF and the UN, we remain ready to do what we can to help encourage peaceful dialogue leading towards a lasting and meaningful peace on the Korean peninsula," he said.

Ople said Manila has a stake in peace and stability on the Korean peninsula because of the presence of 30,000 Filipinos in South Korea.

"The safety and welfare of our 30,000 Filipinos in the Republic of Korea remain the foremost consideration in our policy, as well as the stability and security of our region," he said.

Ople said the UN and the rest of the world are hoping that North Korea would stop producing nuclear weapons for peace and stability in the region.

"At the same time, I hope that (North Korea) will also realize that there are many countries in the region who have a stake in the stability of the Korean peninsula and the entire region, who would like to share with (North Korea) their strong desire for peace and their willingness to help promote peaceful dialogue," he said.

Ople said Cambodia wanted to name some member countries to a delegation to mediate between the two Koreas when foreign ministers of ASEAN and the European Union met in Brussels last June.

"But unfortunately there was no follow-up, so it did not materialize," he said.

States with a direct stake in the Korean peninsula should exert diplomatic efforts to bridge the gap between the two Koreas, he added.