The upcoming ASEAN Regional Forum gathers 27 foreign ministers — including those of the United States, China, North and South Korea, Russia and Japan — to discuss security issues. It is one of the few multilateral forums that North Korea attends.

The draft chairman's statement welcomes initiatives and efforts by South Korea, the United States and China to promote dialogue with North Korea. "We urged all concerned parties to resume peaceful dialogue and continue working toward the realization of lasting peace and stability in a denuclearized Korean Peninsula, including through the full and expeditious implementation of the Panmunjom Declaration, the Pyongyang Joint Declaration and the Joint Statement by the US and DPRK leaders,” it said.