MANILA, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)'s member countries will discuss how to deal with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), which has been continuing nuclear weapons testing despite international condemnation, Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano told reporters.
The ministers will meet for the discussion at an informal dinner Friday night, in preparation for the ASEAN ministerial meeting scheduled on Saturday.
Philippine Acting Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Robespierre Bolivar said earlier that ASEAN is "very much concerned" about the developments in DPRK.
"All of us surrounding the region are very much concerned about the potential escalation of this issue," Bolivar told a news conference on Thursday.
DPRK is attending the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) on Monday. ARF is a forum for security in Asia established in 1994. It draws together 27 members in the Asia Pacific region.
Bolivar said that ARF is the only venue outside of the UN where DPRK participates in roundtable discussions on security matters with South Korea, Japan, China, Russia, the United States, the European Union and ASEAN.
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