PHNOM PENH (AFP) ― Southeast Asian leaders on Wednesday called for restraint on the Korean Peninsula as North Korea prepares for a rocket launch that has alarmed countries in the region.

“We urged all parties concerned to exercise self-restraint and not to undertake any steps which could lead to the escalation of tensions in the Korean Peninsula,” Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders said in a joint statement.

The leaders at the end of their annual summit in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh also called for the early resumption of so-called six party talks “for the interest of peace, security and stability” on the peninsula.

Pyongyang sparked alarm in the region when it announced last month it would launch a rocket to place a satellite in orbit.

The United States, Japan and other nations say the launch is a disguised ballistic missile test, and would breach a U.N. ban on North Korean missile launches.