The foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and other major powers reaffirmed their commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and support for diplomacy toward the goal during a regional security forum, a statement showed Thursday.

The chair's statement was released five days after the annual ASEAN Regional Forum held in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, with the attendance of top diplomats from the ASEAN member states, the two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan.

During the ARF session, the attendees expressed concerns over rising tension on the Korean Peninsula over the North's surge in ballistic missile launches, and called on it to refrain from further nuclear and missile tests.

"The Meeting also urged for utmost restraint and refraining from all actions that would hinder the resumption of a meaningful dialogue, and stressed the importance of sustained and peaceful talks among all concerned parties in order to realize lasting peace and stability in a denuclearized Korean Peninsula," the statement read.

"The Meeting reiterated support for the international efforts to bring about the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner," it added. (Yonhap)