The Association of Southeast Asian Nations vowed to avoid trade restrictions and push ahead with a fuel-sharing scheme as the region grapples with a spike in oil prices and supply disruptions due to the Iran war.
"We will keep trade open and predictable. Asean agreed to avoid restrictive trade measures, including export bans on essential goods," Philippine Trade Secretary Cristina Roque said in a briefing on Thursday after meeting with regional economic ministers.
"In times of uncertainty, predictability is stability and stability begins with keeping goods moving across borders," she said.
Asean is also working to advance the ratification of an agreement that enables coordinated emergency fuel sharing amid supply disruptions, she said.
The 11-nation bloc will upgrade key trade agreements, including those with China, South Korea and Canada, according to Roque, who chaired the special meeting on the Middle East conflict's impact on the region.
Asean members have seen pump prices jump since the start of the Iran war, stoking inflation, straining government budgets and choking economic activity.
"We noticed that geopolitical tensions are already affecting economic stability in Asean," Roque said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un confirmed a policy that requires soldiers to commit suicide on the battlefield to avoid capture while fighting Russia's war against Ukraine.
Speaking at an event to inaugurate a memorial in Pyongyang for North Koreans who have died in action, Kim twice mentioned soldiers who had "self-blasted," according to a report by the official Korean Central News Agency.
"Heroes who unhesitatingly opted for self-blasting, suicide attack, in order to defend the great honor" were praised by Kim in the speech given to bereaved families and top Russian officials. "They did not expect any compensation, though they performed distinguished feats," he added. "They died a heroic death."
Kim signed a military pact with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2024 that included a mutual defense provision. South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have since estimated Pyongyang has sent at least 10,000 soldiers and tens of thousands of containers of weapons to help Russia fight Ukraine. The North is believed to have suffered heavy casualties, with thousands killed in action.
The disclosure by Kim this week follows reports that North Korean troops captured by Ukraine were required to kill themselves to avoid becoming a prisoner of war. Those accounts cited both Ukrainian intelligence and a captured North Korean soldier.
North Korea has also ramped up weapons tests this year, including of shorter-range ballistic missiles, and test-fired its new sea-to-surface weapons system. That comes amid growing concerns over the country's army gaining real combat experience from fighting alongside Russia.
Earlier this month, Pyongyang said it has tested multiple Hwasong-11 missiles -- a short-range missile type also known as KN-23 or KN-24 -- which Ukraine has said Pyongyang supplied to Moscow for use in its war against Kyiv.