Asia ministers condemn Taliban at security meet

MANILA (AFP) - Asian foreign ministers yesterday condemned the Taliban for killing two South Korean hostages and demanded that 21 others be released immediately as they wrapped up their annual security talks.

Behind closed doors there were also pointed warnings from China and North Korea, as nearly 30 countries took stock of a range of global threats, from climate change to nuclear proliferation.

The ministers "condemn the hostage-taking of their nationals in Afghanistan and deplore in the strongest terms the brutal murder of two hostages," they said in a statement closing the annual ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

The gathering brought together officials from Asia, Europe and the United States for hours of talks which diplomats said included a harsh address from North Korea over a lingering dispute about kidnapped Japanese nationals.

With Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso in the room, his new North Korean counterpart Pak Ui-Chun blasted Japan over its wartime history -- hitting back, diplomats said, for Tokyo's repeated raising of the abductions in disarmament talks.

"I found it sometimes a little harsh, to be frank," said Christopher Hill, the lead US negotiator in the ongoing six-nation talks aimed at getting the North to abandon its nuclear weapons programmes in exchange for aid.

"But you shouldn't believe everything you hear," said Hill, who declined to give any details about the speech. Later, Hill was seen declining to shake Pak's hand.

Japan has refused to contribute any aid to North Korea as part of the disarmament deal until there is progress on the abductions of Japanese nationals to train Pyongyang's spies in the 1970s and 1980s.

Aso later dismissed the speech and took a dig of his own at Pak, who was attending his first ARF meeting after taking over his post in May.

"You often see these things -- a person shows up for a meeting for the first time and says things without listening to others," Aso said.

China meanwhile took a swipe at what it said were efforts to counter the dramatic growth of its armed forces, insisting that it was a force for peace and stability in the region.

Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi attacked what he called a "Cold War mentality" aimed at gaining military superiority at the expense of mutual cooperation.

"Under the influence of the Cold War mentality, there is a trend towards building up bilateral military alliances to gain absolute military superiority," he said in his speech.

"This undermines political mutual trust, causes uncertainty to regional security and has become a source of concern to people," Yang said.

The minister did not refer to specific countries, although China's drive for a bigger and stronger military has jangled nerves in the United States and across Asia.

Yang said Beijing's improving relations with Japan, and its role as the host of the North Korea talks, showed signs that his country was playing a peaceful and responsible role in the region.

ARF is hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and brings together ASEAN's 10 member states with 17 partners including Russia, China, India, Pakistan, the United States and the European Union.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.