Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano vows to uphold national security amid threats posed by North Korea’s nuclear missile testing.
Cayetano said the Philippines and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are focusing on decisive diplomatic approach for a peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue.
“We urge all sides to do everything that the doors of dialogue will open. Both sides are talking about national security, but there will be no national security if there is a nuclear and even if it’s a war with conventional weapons,” Cayeno told local reporters.
Cayetano’s statement came as a response to North Korea’s plan to attack the US with a nuclear-tipped missile, which could affect 160,000 people in Guam, including more than 42,800 migrant Filipinos.
Early this month, ASEAN foreign ministers called on North Korea to exercise self-restraint with regards to its nuclear and missile tests.
They reiterated “grave concerns” over the escalation of tensions in the Korean Peninsula, noting these “developments seriously threaten peace, security and stability in the region and the world.”
Meanwhile, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Restituto Padilla Jr. acknowledge that North Korea’s move to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles as a threat, but it will “remotely” affect the Philippines.
“If ever it disintegrates in the atmosphere, potentially it would have debris. It could hit some northern coastal areas. We have to forewarn our citizens to be on the look out, but that’s something we see as remote,” Padilla said in a press conference.
(Report via PNA)
Photo credit: National Nuclear Security Administration
