(3rd LD) S. Korea, ASEAN urge N. Korea to stop provocations in special summit

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead paras; UPDATES with remarks from a spokesman for South
Korea's presidential office)
By Byun Duk-kun
JEJU ISLAND, South Korea, June 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak
and leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
called on North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions Monday as they held a
special summit aimed at increasing economic and security cooperation among the
countries.

The leaders were expected to adopt a joint statement on Tuesday, the last day of
their two-day summit here, which will condemn North Korea's second nuclear test
of last Monday and call for swift, stern actions by the international community
to punish the communist nation, according to Lee Dong-kwan, a spokesman for the
South Korean presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae.
"The leaders of all 10 ASEAN countries spoke in one voice as they said the recent
North Korean nuclear test was an act that undermines peace and stability on the
Korean Peninsula and in East Asia and also condemned the test as a serious threat
to security in the region," the Cheong Wa Dae spokesman said in a press briefing.
The Korea-ASEAN summit marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of their
dialogue partnership. The leaders are expected to call for increased efforts to
bring the countries closer in a separate document to be issued at the end of
their two-day talks here.
"People often say the 21st century will be an era of Asia. Cooperation in the
region is fast becoming a must amid the effects of globalization, and I believe
the Korea-ASEAN relationship has also come to a point where it must take another
leap forward," the South Korean president said in a keynote speech marking the
start of the special summit.
Lee earlier called for efforts to form a regional economic bloc, saying the
ongoing global crisis requires the concerted efforts of all the participating
countries.
Abhisit Vejjajiva, prime minister of Thailand who is serving as the rotating
president of ASEAN, agreed on the need to form an economic alliance between the
countries, saying, "No country can take on these challenges alone."
"The key challenge for us now is how to ensure that flows of investment and trade
between Korea and ASEAN will not be affected by the global economic crisis," he
said in the first plenary session of the two-day summit.
Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak noted the Korea-ASEAN relationship has
contributed "substantially" to the development and prosperity of the countries
since their dialogue partnership was established.
"We must develop ASEAN-ROK relations to a higher, strategic partnership to meet
our current and future challenges," he said, referring to South Korea by its
official name, the Republic of Korea.
This week's summit comes as part of Seoul's efforts to improve its relations with
the ASEAN countries under a diplomatic campaign called the "New Asia Initiative,"
through which Korea will help establish a network of economic and diplomatic ties
among Asian nations and promote their mutual interests in the international
community.
South Korea and ASEAN will sign an investment treaty at the end of the two-day
summit, which South Korean officials say will mark the start of "complete, full
free trade" between the sides. Seoul and ASEAN have already signed and enacted
free trade deals on goods and services.
The leaders are also expected to focus on the North Korean issue during their
two-day summit here as Pyongyang claims to have conducted its second nuclear
detonation test last Monday.
Abhisit earlier said the envisioned statement on North Korea will "reaffirm our
stance and desire for peace and stability in the region."
The start of the Jeju meeting followed a series of bilateral talks between the
South Korean president and his ASEAN counterparts, in which Lee sought to win
support for Seoul's efforts to contain its communist neighbor and improve
relations with the countries.
"I believe the future of Korea-ASEAN relations lies in continuous expansion and
strengthening of their cooperation and friendship as good neighbors and partners
for prosperity," President Lee told the ASEAN leaders at the opening of the
summit.
Trade between Korea and ASEAN nations has jumped over 11 times since they became
dialogue partners in 1989, from US$8.2 billion to over $90 billion last year.
Lee said his country will double its official development aid to ASEAN countries
to $400 million by 2015.
Seoul earlier said it will increase its development loans from the economic
development cooperation fund to ASEAN countries to 1.9 trillion won ($1.52
billion) by 2012.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)