North Korea rejected an international appeal to refrain from nuclear testing on Thursday, September 24, as foreign ministers gathered around the United Nations General Assembly in New York. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson condemned the appeal by supporters of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, according to a statement carried by state media and reported by Reuters. The response puts Pyongyang at odds with governments seeking to preserve the global norm against nuclear explosions.
The appeal came from the Friends of the treaty, a group led by Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Japan and the Netherlands. In a joint declaration issued after their September 22 ministerial meeting, they said another North Korean nuclear test would be irresponsible and unacceptable. They also urged the country to follow relevant UN Security Council resolutions, dismantle its nuclear and missile programs, and sign and ratify the treaty.
The North Korean spokesperson described the declaration as a political provocation and defended the country's claimed right to maintain its nuclear capabilities, Reuters reported, citing the Korean Central News Agency. The exchange concerns a treaty that prohibits nuclear weapon test explosions and other nuclear explosions. Its supporters say the ban limits the development and improvement of nuclear arms.
The ministers' declaration recalled six nuclear tests conducted by North Korea since 2006. It said 188 countries had signed the treaty and 179 had ratified it as of September 22. The treaty has still not entered into force because nine specified countries, including North Korea and the United States, have not completed the ratification required for that step.
The dispute also follows a September 21 meeting in New York between the foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Japan's Foreign Ministry said the three reaffirmed their commitment to North Korea's complete denuclearization under Security Council resolutions. Earlier on Thursday, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui separately said her country's nuclear status was irreversible, according to Yonhap's account of state media.
The opposing statements underline the distance between Pyongyang and governments pressing for disarmament. The treaty group called for existing moratoriums on nuclear explosions to be maintained while it seeks wider ratification and stronger verification. Neither the appeal nor North Korea's rejection resolves the disagreement over the country's weapons program; any renewed negotiations would have to address that divide.
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