Korea-Japan Atomic Bomb Victims Groups Urge North Korea Nuclear Six-Party Talks Members to Ratify Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty

Demanding Ratification from South Korea, North Korea, Japan, and Others
Leading the Way to a World Without Nuclear Weapons

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[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] Atomic bomb survivor organizations from Korea and Japan have issued a joint statement urging the six-party talks members on North Korea's nuclear issue to ratify the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

According to Kyodo News on the 20th, the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, together with the Korea Atomic Bomb Victims Association, sent a joint statement on the 18th demanding the governments of the six countries?Korea, North Korea, Japan, the United States, China, and Russia?to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

In the joint statement, the two organizations pointed out that the North Korean nuclear issue is "the greatest challenge related to peace in the Northeast Asia region" and argued that the six-party talks members should take the lead in ratifying the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons to create a world free of nuclear weapons.

The two organizations also urged the governments of Korea and Japan to jointly conduct investigations and provide compensation regarding atomic bomb damage.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which bans all nuclear weapons-related activities including development, testing, and production, was adopted by the UN General Assembly in July 2017, and after ratification by 50 countries was completed in October this year, it is scheduled to come into effect in January next year.

However, the five countries recognized as nuclear-weapon states under the existing Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)?the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, and Russia?and North Korea, which is pursuing nuclear force enhancement, have rejected the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Japan, the world's only country to have suffered atomic bombings, and the Korean government, which relies on the US nuclear umbrella as a pillar of its defense, also maintain the same stance.

Meanwhile, the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, representing the atomic bombed cities in Japan, submitted a request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urging the Japanese government to participate in the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.