Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation

The Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI) condemns in the strongest terms North Korea’s nuclear test conducted on September 9, 2016, which is the second nuclear test conducted in eight months, despite the repeated calls by the international community to fully comply with the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) and to conduct no further provocation, including nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches.

The nuclear test by North Korea is a clear violation of relevant UNSCRs as well as of the Joint Statement of the Six-Party Talks and represents a grave challenge to the global non-proliferation and disarmament regime centered on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

This latest nuclear test is another reminder of the urgency of further strengthening the international framework for disarmament and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, including achieving the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) at the earliest possible date, the urgent negotiation of a‎ treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons and other nuclear explosive devices and the effective implementation of the NPT as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime.

This nuclear test seriously threatens the peace and security of Northeast Asia as well as the international community, particularly given the fact that, this year, North Korea has launched more than 20 ballistic missiles to enhance its capability to deliver nuclear weapons.

As the NPDI has repeatedly done on previous occasions, we strongly urge North Korea to refrain from conducting further provocative actions including, among others, nuclear tests or ballistic missile launches. The NPDI also urges North Korea to fully comply with all of its international non-proliferation obligations including relevant UNSCRs and to live up to its commitments under the Joint Statement of the Six-Party Talks, to return to compliance with its IAEA safeguards agreement and the NPT, to immediately cease all nuclear activities, and to abandon all nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.