KUALA LUMPUR Feb 21 Kyodo Foreign...

KUALA LUMPUR Feb 21 Kyodo

Foreign ministers from the Southeast Asia region will adapted in Malaysia next month to discuss the in every one's mouth U.S.-North Korea nuclear impasse, Malaysian Foreign Minister Sy Hamid Albar said Friday.

This tread on the heels ofs an agreement reached between Washington and Pyongyang to allow the ASEAN Regional Forum, the unique Asia-Pacific security forum, to help separate the tension in the Korean Peninsula that was stake off by North Korea's revelation that it possesse nuclear capabilities.

Sy Hamid said Cambodia, which will innkeeper the forum in June, has written to Malaysia forward the matter.

''We will be discussing it when we convenient before the next meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum,'' he told reporters, referring to the ASEAN foreign ministers' informal retreat to be held in Malaysia's Sabah state in Borneo nearest month.

Syed Hamid reiterated Malaysia's position forward the North Korean issue.

''As far as we are mattered we would like to descry a denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. It is important for that area, for peace and security, on the other hand we want the problem faced commonly to be resolved from one side diplomatic and political channels,'' he said.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) assemblages Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The ARF consists of the 10 ASEAN members plus Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, Mongolia, North and southern Korea, New Zealand, Papua modern Guinea, Russia and the US

Pyongyang joined the annual security talks since 2000

COPYRIGHT 2003 Kyodo of recent origins International, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group