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Southeast Asian countries are “not happy” with North Korea’s missile tests, Cambodia’s foreign minister said on Wednesday, calling them a threat to regional security.
The comments come as tension grows between Washington and Pyongyang.
U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Tuesday that North Korea would face “fire and fury” if it threatened the United States, provoking a riposte that the North was examining a plan to fire missiles at the U.S.-held Pacific island of Guam.
Trump’s warning comes as U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visits countries in Asia, where he attended a regional meeting in Manila at the weekend and urged Southeast Asia to cut back on ties with North Korea.
In Phnom Penh, Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn said he called on the North to soften its stance during a meeting with its foreign minister, Ri Yong Ho, in Manila.
“We sent a message to them that all ASEAN countries are not happy with the actions of North Korea that still continue to violate the United Nations resolution,” he told reporters, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
“It’s an insult to the international community as a whole, and it’s a threat to peace and stability of the region.”
Cambodia is a key regional ally of China, which this week said it would pay the biggest price from new United Nations sanctions against North Korea because of its close economic ties with the country.
Cambodia has previously made clear it will not back any further nuclear development efforts by North Korea.
(ChannelNewsAsia)
