South Korea's foreign minister said Tuesday that North Korea's nuclear threat, and historical and territorial rows pose risks to stability in Northeast Asia, calling for measures to build trust and promote regional cooperation.

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se made the remarks at the opening of an international forum aimed at promoting a peace initiative in Northeast Asia proposed by South Korean President Park Geun-hye.

The three-day forum brings together government officials and private experts to exchange views on issues such as nuclear safety, energy security and cyberspace to enhance regional peace and cooperation.

The vision calls for countries in the region to build trust through nonpolitical cooperation before dealing with political and security matters.

Through a video message, Park said that countries in Northeast Asia have logged brisk economic growth over more than half a century, but the region's potential has not been fully utilized due to security tensions.

"Countries in the region should gradually build trust by seeking cooperation in areas such as disaster relief, nuclear safety and the environment," Park said. "That's the essence of the Northeast Asia Peace Cooperation Initiative."

Seoul's top diplomat made similar remarks, saying that contrary to multilateral cooperation underway in the global arena, Northeast Asia has been plagued by security tensions including North Korea's nuclear threat, coming at odds with the region's high interdependence on the economic front.

"It means political and security cooperation remains minimal and lags behind the deepening economic interdependence. And there is a mismatch between high and low politics," Yun said, calling the phenomenon the "Asia paradox."

The minister stressed that "now is the time for us to complement and reinforce our approach with a new mindset,"

expressing the need to build trust among regional players.

"That is, a collaborative, coordinated, future-oriented and sustainable regional cooperation," he said.

Yun said that the main obstacles to cooperation should be addressed "by turning the trust deficit into a trust surplus and by promoting the habit or culture of multilateral dialogue."

South Korea has invited officials from the United States, China, Japan, Russia and Mongolia, among other countries. North Korea rejected Seoul's invitation that was conveyed to Pyongyang via the North's mission to the United Nations in New York, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

Later in the day, Seoul officials will also have closed-door sessions at the foreign ministry with government officials from participating countries such as Sydney Seiler, the new U.S. special envoy for the six-party nuclear talks.

Yun has said that Northeast Asia lacks a multilateral cooperative mechanism, adding that the initiative could be a "suitable and tailored" approach to promoting cooperation in the region. (Yonhap)