Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen (C) attends the opening ceremony of the 2nd ASEAN-EU business summit meeting in Phnom Penh April 1, 2012. Also pictured are (L-R): Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the National Authority for Combating Drugs Ke Kim Yan, Chairman of the Council for Agricultural and Development (CARD) Yim Chhay Ly, Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon, Minister of National Defense Tea Banh, Minister in charge of the Council of Ministers Sok An, Minister of Interior Sar Kheng, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh, ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht, President of Cambodia's Chamber of Commerce Kith Meng, Ambassador of the European Union to Cambodia Jean-Francois Cautain and Chairman of European Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia Dominique Catry. REUTERS/Samrang Pring (CAMBODIA - Tags: BUSINESS POLITICS)Phnom Penh, Cambodia, April 4, 2012 (AFP) - Southeast Asian leaders on Wednesday called for restraint on the Korean Peninsula as North Korea prepares for a rocket launch that has alarmed countries in the region.
"We urged all parties concerned to exercise self-restraint and not to undertake any steps which could lead to the escalation of tensions in the Korean Peninsula," Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders said in a joint statement.
The leaders at the end of their annual summit in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh also called for the early resumption of so-called six party talks "for the interest of peace, security and stability" on the peninsula.
Pyongyang sparked alarm in the region when it announced last month it would launch a rocket to place a satellite in orbit.
The United States, Japan and other nations say the launch is a disguised ballistic missile test, and would breach a UN ban on North Korean missile launches.
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