North Korea on Thursday inked a nonaggression treaty with its Southeast Asian neighbors, a move that is hoped will promote peace, security and cooperation in the region. North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun signed the document formalizing North Korea's accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia during the ceremony in Singapore, this year's chair of the meetings of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Pak flew into Singapore to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum, Asia's main security gathering, on Thursday.
On Wednesday, he took part in the informal round of six-party talks aimed at ending the North's nuclear programs, at which Pyongyang agreed to disable its main nuclear facilities by the end of October.
ASEAN warmly welcomed North Korea's accession, saying it will "significantly contribute" to strengthening relations between ASEAN and the North, and also help ease tensions gripping the Korean Peninsula.
"It's a good move. We welcome it very much, and we certainly hope that it will lead to other positive developments in reducing the conflicts and ease tension in the region," said Surin Pitsuwan, ASEAN director general.
Northeast Asia is one of the last regions where vestiges of the Cold War still linger, making it one of the challenges confronting the region.
Aileen S.P. Baviera, dean of the Asian Center at the University of the Philippines, said North Korea's accession is a "positive sign," seeing it as a "commitment for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in the region."
"It's good. It means that North Korea is opening up and wants to have a deeper integration with not just North Asia but also its Southeast Asian neighbors," Baviera told Kyodo News in an interview.
"It will not speed up the denuclearization process because ASEAN plays a minor role in the six-party talks but it will definitely contribute," she said.
ASEAN requested in February this year that Pyongyang accede to the treaty in a bid to engage the reclusive state.
The treaty, originally signed by ASEAN members in 1976, has since expanded to include other nations. North Korea would be the 15th signatory from outside Southeast Asia.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.