UN, ASEAN Should Improve Cooperation Towards N. Korea Denuclearization - Guterres

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st January, 2020) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he is concerned over the situation on the Korean Peninsula and urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United Nations to strengthen cooperation to advance diplomatic efforts towards the denuclearization of the region.

"The situation on the Korean Peninsula remains of deep concern," Guterres told the Security Council on Thursday. "With Indonesia and Vietnam as active members of the Security Council in 2020, the Secretary-General hopes that stronger links can be built between ASEAN and the UN to advance diplomatic efforts on the Korean Peninsula."

Guterres stressed that the ASEAN region has contributed to the promotion of long-lasting peace and security and the full and verifiable denuclearization of North Korea by hosting the US-North Korean talks in Hanoi and Singapore.

The US-North Korea negotiations have been in limbo since the North Korean delegation departed from the October talks in Sweden, saying that the negotiations were a failure as the United States had come empty-handed. The US side disagreed, stating that the sides had good discussions.

From the North Korean point of view, the US has not been responding in good faith to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's attempts to settle the issue. Pyongyang threatens to change its course regarding the denuclearization process unless the Trump administration offers more acceptable terms.

In early January, Kim said Pyongyang would not implement the ban on nuclear testing until the United States offered some concessions.