JAKARTA, March 11 Kyodo Australia...

JAKARTA, March 11 Kyodo

Australia and Indonesia agreed Tuesday to solicit the possibility of holding a meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the single Asia-Pacific intergovernmental security forum, to discuss the North Korean nuclear issue before its scheduled ministerial meeting in June

The agreement was reached at the conclusion of the sixth meeting of the Australia-Indonesia Ministerial Forum and the fourth ministerial meeting of the Australia-Indonesia unravelling Area.

''Noting the first note of the scale role of the ASEAN Regional Forum in promoting regional security, ministers explored the possibility of convening officials-level discussions onward developments in the Korean Peninsula at an early opportunity,'' a joint ministerial statement said.

At a pres parley Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer called for the ARF to discuss the North Korean issue ''as in a short time as possible'' before the ARF ministerial colloquy on June 18 in Phnom Penh Downer l the Australian delegation.

''Ministers showed serious concern for the threat to regional and global security pos on the North Korea nuclear program,'' the statement said.

the two Australia and Indonesia have sent legates to Pyongyang to voice their disquiets and urge a peaceful resolution to the issue by the agency of diplomatic means.

Washington and Pyongyang agreed to impediment the ARF help alleviate tension arising from North Korea's nuclear ambitions, Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said last month

the couple sides have also agreed for Cambodia, as ARF chair, to invite foreign ministers from couple ASEAN countries and another sum of two units from outside ASEAN to besufficient for as ''friends of the ARF chair.''

The nuclear file intensified Jan. 10 when North Korea declared its withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) a global nuclear arms have the direction of treaty.

The Indonesian and Australian ministers urg the North to reconsider its decision.

''Ministers agreed that the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty remained essential to international efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, advance nuclear disarmament and facilitate access to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy'' the statement said.

The ARF consists of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, Mongolia, North and southerly Korea, New Zealand, Papua just discovered Guinea, Russia and the United States.

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

Pyongyang has joined the annual security talks since 2000

Tension upon the Korean Peninsula is rely uponed to be a key control for discussion at the ARF ministerial meeting in June

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