Experts in disarmament and nonproliferation from Korea and the United Nations gathered in Korea to come up with more effective countermeasures against North Korea’s unstoppable nuclear weapons ambitions.

The 15th Korea-U.N. Joint Conference on Disarmament and Nonproliferation was held at the Shilla Hotel in Seogwipo on Jeju Island on Nov. 17 and 18. At the conference, participants touched upon current issues regarding disarmament and nonproliferation, the North Korea nuclear weapons programs, implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2270, the connections between biochemistry, radioactivity, nuclear weapons security and cyber security, and, lastly, export control.

Now that the North has carried out two rounds of nuclear weapons tests and launched 24 ballistic missiles this year alone, the experts mainly talked about ways to enhance the international community’s responses to the North’s persistent provocations.

The conference had in attendance more than 60 experts from both home and abroad, including Deputy Foreign Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs Choi Jong-moon, U.N. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Kim Won-soo, Deputy Assistant Secretary from the U.S. Department of State Eliot Kang, Director General for Disarmament Aikawa Kazutoshi from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Joint Secretary for Disarmament Amandeep Gill Singh from the Indian Foreign Service.





“North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile development programs have long been a cause of deep concern and have posed a grave challenge to global efforts toward nonproliferation over the past 20 or so years,” said U.N. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Kim Won-soo. “It’s very crucial that the international community remain united so as to handle together this kind of challenge,” he stressed.

As for a way to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), alongside ceaseless nuclear threats from the North, the U.N. representative said, “U.N. Security Council resolutions send a strong message to the North, that the international community will continue to work together to stop that regime from pursuing its provocative actions and to force it to abide by its international responsibilities. U.N. resolutions can be effective only when they are properly implemented. All entities that make up the global community should build an international partnership to put the resolutions into force in an effective manner.”

“New sanctions against the regime are currently under discussion, following the fifth nuclear weapons test that the North recently carried out. These new sanctions should be stronger than Resolution 2270, should close existing loopholes and should have more far-reaching implications,” said Deputy Foreign Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs Choi Jong-moon.

Mentioning that South Korea joined the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), and that it will also be the host country for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) International Conference on Nuclear Security slated for December this year, the deputy minister emphasized that, “We believe in the significance of disarmament and nonproliferation when it comes to achieving national security and world peace.”

The Korea-U.N. Joint Conference on Disarmament and Nonproliferation is an annual event that has at the top of its agenda a select set of major issues concerning disarmament and nonproliferation, and is a forum where such topics can be discussed among experts from around the world. It started as an international workshop in 2001, marking the 10th anniversary of South Korea joining the U.N.

By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Yonhap News
jiae5853@korea.kr