Singapore and the Philippines pressured North Korea to drop its nuclear weapons program at a summit today, although Pyongyang appeared to have escaped censure by the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) as a whole.

Philippines President Gloria Arroyo called o­n North Korea to "comply with its obligations under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT)," adding that she and her countrymen "earnestly pray that war will be avoided."

Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong warned Pyongyang's decision to withdraw from the key nuclear arms treaty "has serious repercussions o­n the international non-proliferation regime and hence world peace."

In an address to the summit of the 116-nation NAM, Goh said if North Korea resumes missile tests "this could destabilise the strategic balance in Asia and trigger a regional arms race."

The remarks by the Philippine and Singapore leaders came shortly after negotiators backed down from an attempt to pressure fellow-member North Korea to reverse its decision to quit the NPT, which seeks to limit possession of nuclear weapons to the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain.

A resolution to be presented at the summit says the leaders simply "noted the withdrawal of the DPRK (North Korea) from the NPT," according to a final draft obtained by AFP .

A compromise result

An earlier draft "underlined the importance of the DPRK's participation in the NPT", but those words were dropped over objections by North Korea.

The result is a compromise, as Pyongyang had originally wanted a resolution blaming the United States for the crisis o­n the Korean Peninsula, and when that was immediately rejected, tried unsuccessfully to insert a phrase about ensuring North Korea's security.

The resolution urges "the parties directly concerned (to) resolve, through dialogue and negotiations, all issues related to the withdrawal of the DPRK from the NPT as an expression of their goodwill."

This appears to be another minor victory for Pyongyang, which has long rejected international involvement in what it considers a dispute between it and the United States alone.

"There was not enough resolve anymore to push the negotiations when North Korea was really in no mood to compromise at all," a Southeast Asian diplomat told AFP .

He said, however, that member states had made clear their concern about North Korea's withdrawal from the key nuclear treaty during debate o­n the resolution.

While this might not be reflected in the statement "they certainly heard it and this language will not give them comfort that they have any support from the region for what they have done," he said.

The NAM resolution does express "serious concern over the recent developments o­n the Korean Peninsula" and calls "upon all parties concerned to do everything possible to resolve the nuclear issue peacefully."

Pyongyang had looked to its membership in NAM, which consists mainly of developing countries, as o­ne of the few friendly global venues open to it, but Seoul and Washington, attending the summit as observers, mounted a strong lobby against the North Korean position.

Washington is demanding that North Korea renounce its nuclear weapons ambitions before it will agree to negotiate with Pyongyang, which insists o­n a non-aggression pact and direct talks first. AFP