SECRETARY-GENERAL, DEEPLY CONCERNED BY NUCLEAR TEST, URGES RENEWED TALKS

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the news that the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has conducted a nuclear test, in spite of repeated worldwide efforts to discourage it from doing so.  This action violates international norms of disarmament and non-proliferation, as well as the current international moratorium on nuclear testing.  It aggravates regional tensions in and around the Korean peninsula, and jeopardizes security both in the region and beyond.

The Secretary-General calls on all parties to respond to this grave challenge in a constructive manner, and calls for serious negotiations to be renewed urgently in the framework of the six-party talks. 

The Secretary-General views this test as yet another reason for the international community to renew its collective effort to bring the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty into force and to make progress towards multilateral nuclear disarmament.

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For information media • not an official record