|
China urges calm after DPRK nuclear test announcement
BEIJING, Jan 24, 2013 (Xinhua via COMTEX) --
A Foreign Ministry spokesman
called for calm and restraint from all concerned parties on
Thursday after the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)
vowed to conduct "a higher-level nuclear test."
"It is in the common interests of all parties concerned to
maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and achieve
the denuclearization of the peninsula," spokesman Hong Lei said at
a regular news briefing.
"(We) hope all concerned parties will keep calm and act in a
cautious and prudent way, as well as refrain from taking any
action that could lead to the progressive escalation of tensions,"
the spokesman said.
The DPRK National Defense Commission issued a statement in
response to a resolution adopted Tuesday by the UN Security
Council that condemns a DPRK satellite launch that took place in
December 2012.
"We will not hide the fact that a variety of satellites and
long-range rockets will be launched and a nuclear test of a higher
level will be carried out during the next phase of the anti-U.S.
struggle," said a statement carried by the KCNA news agency.
The 15-member UN Security Council on Tuesday unanimously
approved Resolution 2087, which requires the DPRK to comply with
all relevant resolutions approved by the Security Council and to
refrain from using ballistic missile technology for any launches.
The resolution also suggests seeking a peaceful, diplomatic and
political solution for related issues and advocates the renewal of
the six-party talks.
The National Defense Commission also declared that the
six-party talks, as well as a related Sept. 19, 2005 joint
statement, will "no longer exist," adding that the UN Security
Council "has been reduced to an organization bereft of
impartiality and balance."
Hong said the six-party talks are still an effective mechanism
to realize the denuclearization of the peninsula.
The six-party talks, a negotiation mechanism that includes the
DPRK, the Republic of Korea (ROK), the United States, China, Japan
and Russia, were launched in 2003, but stalled in December 2008.
The DPRK quit the talks in April 2009.
Hong said all concerned parties should boost dialogues in order
to address their concerns, as well as implement all of the goals
set in the Sept. 19, 2005 joint statement.
In the joint statement, the DPRK committed to abandoning all
nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs and returning, at an
early date, to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons and to International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.
The United States affirmed that it has no nuclear weapons on
the Korean Peninsula and has no intention to attack or invade the
DPRK with nuclear or conventional weapons. The ROK reaffirmed its
commitment not to receive or deploy nuclear weapons in accordance
with the 1992 Joint Declaration of the Denuclearization of the
Korean Peninsula, while also affirming that no nuclear weapons
exist within its territory.
"China is ready to make joint efforts with the international
community to achieve these goals," Hong said.
[ Satellite Spotlight's Homepage ]
|
