South Korea and four other nations have adopted a statement expressing concerns about North Korea’s illegal arms trade. 

According to the National Assembly on Tuesday, the speakers of the parliaments from the MIKTA grouping – South Korea, Mexico, Indonesia, Türkiye and Australia – adopted the chairman’s statement the previous day after the tenth MIKTA Speakers’ Consultation in Mexico. 

The statement, comprising 22 points on various topics, expressed serious concerns about North Korea's ballistic missile launches, use of related technology, and illicit arms trade, adding that the resulting tension on the Korean Peninsula threatens peace and stability in the region. 

Though concerns about Pyongyang were not contained in the initial draft of the statement, South Korea’s parliament reportedly persuaded other countries to include it amid growing concerns in the international community about the North’s illicit arms trade. 

The MIKTA speakers also reportedly had differing opinions regarding the nature of the wars between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas and between Russia and Ukraine, as well as resolutions for the wars.