Press Releases
The 14th Asia Senior-Level Talks on Non-Proliferation (ASTOP)
1. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan hosted the 14th Asia Senior-Level Talks on Non-Proliferation (ASTOP) on January 31 in Tokyo. Senior government officials in charge of non-proliferation policies from the ten ASEAN member states, China, India, Republic of Korea, Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, United States, and Japan participated in the meeting.
2. In his opening remarks, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Kazuyuki Nakane emphasized the importance of cooperative non-proliferation efforts in Asia, which faces serious threats such as North Korea’s repeated nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches.
3. The discussions focused on:
(1) North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, including the need to fully implement relevant UN Security Council resolutions (PDF)
;
(2) Counter-proliferation efforts and challenges, including country-specific measures in export control and cooperation in capacity building; and
(3) The universalization of the Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCOC) and recent developments in the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI).
