Southeast Asia diplomats hope for North Korea talks at summit

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei — Southeast Asian diplomats have not abandoned hope that this week's annual Asian security summit will provide a chance for North Korea and its neighbors to discuss restarting long-dormant disarmament talks on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, according to a joint statement released Sunday.

The top diplomats from North Korea and the five other nations involved in the now-stalled nuclear disarmament talks are gathering in Brunei for the Association of Southeast Asian Nation Regional Forum. The international standoff over North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons is expected to take center stage, along with other regional issues, including South China Sea territorial disputes.

In the past six months, North Korea has launched a long-range rocket and conducted an atomic test in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning the regime from nuclear and missile activity. Pyongyang calls the weapons buildup the core of its defense against U.S. aggression, and has vowed to push ahead in constructing the arsenal as long as it feels threatened by the U.S.

Top diplomats from the 10 ASEAN countries urged the six nations involved in past disarmament negotiations — North Korea, South Korea, the U.S., Japan, Russia and China — to restart the talks. The disarmament-for-aid talks hosted by Beijing were last held in 2008.

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