UNITED NATIONS, Jan 6 (APP): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Wednesday deplored the underground nuclear test announced by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), calling it “deeply troubling” and a violation of numerous UN Security Council resolutions, “despite the united call by the international community to cease such activities.”
“It is also a grave contravention of the international norm against nuclear testing,” the secretary-general said while taking to reporters at UN Headquarters in New York.
“This act is profoundly destabilizing for regional security and seriously undermines international non-proliferation efforts.
I condemn it unequivocally.” The UN chief went on to demand that the DPRK cease any further nuclear activities and meet its obligations for verifiable denuclearization.
“We are monitoring and assessing developments in close coordination with the concerned international organisations – including the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) – and interested parties,” the Secretary-General added.
The Vienna-based CTBTO, which will be officially established when the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty enters into force, oversees the International Monitoring System (IMS), which, when complete, consist of 337 facilities worldwide to monitor the planet for signs of nuclear explosions.
Following the announcement today by the DPRK, the head of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that if the nuclear test is confirmed, it is in clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions and is deeply regrettable.
I strongly urge the DPRK to implement fully all relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council and the IAEA, Director General Yukiya Amano in a statement said.
He added that the IAEA remains ready to contribute to the peaceful resolution of the DPRK nuclear issue by resuming its nuclear verification activities in the DPRK once a political agreement is reached among countries concerned.
Meanwhile, the CTBTO has said that its monitoring stations picked up an unusual seismic event†in the DPRK today at 01:30:00 (UTC), and that its initial location estimate shows that the event took place in the area of the DPRK’s nuclear test site.
If confirmed this will be the fourth nuclear test carried out by the country since 2006.
CTBTO experts are analysing the event to establish more about its nature.
If confirmed as a nuclear test, this act constitutes a breach of the universally accepted norm against nuclear testing; a norm that has been respected by 183 countries since 1996, the Executive Secretary of the CBTO, Lassina Zerbo, said in a statement.
It is also a grave threat to international peace and security, he continued.
I urge the DPRK to refrain from further nuclear testing and to join the 183 States Signatories who have signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.