South Korea wanted foreign ministers meeting at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum (ARF) on Friday to condemn North Korea for the torpedo attack which sunk the corvette in March with the loss of 46 lives.

Instead the draft statement, obtained by AFP on Monday, echoed a United Nations Security Council statement, expressing "deep concern over the sinking of the Republic of Korea's naval ship, the Cheonan."

Pyongyang vehemently denies involvement and said it was ready to retaliate if punished.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and foreign ministers of North and South Korea, Japan, Russia and China are among those expected at the meeting of the 27-member ARF in Hanoi.

The ministers "called on all concerned parties to exercise self-restraint" and resolve disputes by peaceful means, according to the draft prepared by communist Vietnam, which will chair the ARF meeting.

The document said ministers also "expressed support" for the statement issued on July 9 by the UN Security Council.

The UN voiced deep concern at the findings of a multinational investigation and condemned the Cheonan attack. But it did not apportion blame -- a result hailed by Pyongyang as a "great diplomatic victory".

After the UN's statement, North Korea said it was willing in principle to return to the six-party nuclear disarmament talks which it abandoned last year.

The talks involve China, Japan, the two Koreas, Russia and the US.

In the draft ARF statement, ministers encouraged a return to the multilateral talks "with a view to achieving the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula for its lasting peace and stability".

Kurt Campbell, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia, has said Pyongyang would have to demonstrate a commitment to change its "provocative ways" before dialogue would start.

On Myanmar, the draft ARF statement says ministers "reiterated the importance of holding the general election in a free, fair, and inclusive manner which would lay the foundation for the long-term stability and prosperity" of the ASEAN-member country.

Military-ruled Myanmar, which is under US and European Union sanctions, has said it will hold its first election in two decades this year. It has not yet announced a date.

Critics say the poll is a sham designed to legitimise the junta's half-century grip on power.

The opposition National League for Democracy led by detained Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is boycotting the ballot because of electoral laws. Under the rules, it would have effectively been forced to expel her and other members in prison before it could participate.

The United States says it expects the elections will not be free and fair.

Critics have dismissed the ARF as a "talk shop" with little influence on the region's many conflicts.

The 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) form the core of the ARF.

In their draft, ministers stress the importance of peace and stability in the South China Sea, where China and ASEAN nations have overlapping sovereignty claims.

They also said they "recognised the difficulties of Fiji in establishing democracy" and expressed support for that process.

ARF members Australia and New Zealand have been among the harshest critics of Fiji since Voreqe Bainimarama led a bloodless coup four years ago and later delayed a return to democratic elections until 2014.

earlier related report
ASEAN meets in shadow of Korea tensions
Hanoi (AFP) July 20, 2010 - Southeast Asian foreign ministers are expected to express "deep concern" Tuesday over the sinking of a South Korean warship which has sharply raised tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are meeting in Hanoi ahead of the region's main security forum Friday, which also gathers major powers including China, the United States and the European Union.

A draft statement prepared ahead of Tuesday's talks said the 10 ASEAN member states supported a nuclear-free Korean peninsula and urged a resumption of six-party disarmament talks "as soon as possible".

"We expressed deep concern over the sinking of (the) ship Cheonan and the rising tension on the Korean peninsula," it said, referring to an explosion which ripped apart a South Korean corvette in March, killing 46 sailors.

"We urge all parties concerned to exercise utmost restraint, enhance confidence and trust, settle disputes by peaceful means through dialogue, and promote long-lasting peace and security in the region."

It said the six-party talks involving North and South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia were still the "main platform to achieve long-lasting peace and stability".

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) security dialogue in Hanoi on Friday alongside the other six-party partners, including the foreign ministers of the two Koreas.

Clinton will arrive in Vietnam after visits this week to Pakistan and South Korea, where she is due to attend a memorial for the dead sailors.

Pyongyang has angrily rejected the findings of an international investigation which blamed a North Korean torpedo for the sinking of the Cheonan, and has threatened strong retaliation against any form of punishment.

But it has also said it is willing to return to the multilateral disarmament talks, which it abandoned last year, after the United Nations Security Council condemned the sinking but did not assign blame.

The United States and South Korea have responded by announcing plans to hold war games this month, details of which will be announced Wednesday when Clinton visits Seoul alongside US Defence Secretary Robert Gates.

A US aircraft carrier, the 97,000-tonne USS George Washington, and three destroyers will visit South Korea this week ahead of the naval exercise.

Diplomats have said the ARF is likely to follow ASEAN's lead by expressing concern about the situation on the Korean peninsula without explicitly condemning North Korea for the Cheonan incident.

The draft ASEAN ministerial statement also calls for free and fair elections in military-ruled Myanmar, and the involvement of "all parties" including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).

The NLD is boycotting the election, which is widely seen as a cynical attempt to cement the military's power. The vote is scheduled to take place this year although no date has been set.

Amnesty International on Sunday said ASEAN's credibility is at stake unless it defends freedom of expression and other rights in Myanmar ahead of the ballot.

The bloc of some 500 million people -- grouping Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- maintains a policy of non-interference in members' affairs.

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