MANILA: Southeast Asian countries will express "grave concern" over North Korea's nuclear weapons tests and ballistic missile launches, despite Pyongyang's appeal for support, according to a draft statement due to be released Friday.

In a rare move, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-Ho wrote to the Asean regional bloc's secretary general appealing for backing in its row with the United States to prevent what it warned could be a "nuclear holocaust".

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