The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has urged a return to “peaceful dialogue” on the Korean Peninsula in a chairman’s statement at the culmination of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

“The Ministers underlined the importance of peace, security and stability on the Korean Peninsula and urged concerned parties not to take any further provocation actions,” ARF Chairman Hor Namhong of Cambodia commented in the statement, which covered a wide range of Asian and global issues.

The statement also expressed ASEAN’s wish for “all parties concerned to explore all possibilities to engage in peaceful dialogue which would lead to the creation of an atmosphere of trust and confidence among the concerned parties."

While seeking to avoid taking sides, it also urged countries involved to “comply with their respective obligations under the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions and their commitment under the 2005 Six-Party Talks Joint Statement.”

Hor Namhong, who is also Cambodia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, visited North Korea in June 2012 as a representative of ASEAN. After the visit, he reported to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that North Korea is open to re-establishing the Six-Party Talks on its nuclear program without pre-conditions. North Korea pulled out of the Six-Party Talks in April 2009.