Choi Jong-moon, Deputy Foreign Minister: "The International Community Must Strengthen the Nuclear Disarmament Regime"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] Choi Jong-moon, the 2nd Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, stated that “there is a need for the international community to strengthen the NPT-centered nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime to achieve the goal of a world without nuclear weapons.”

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Vice Minister Choi attended the '4th Stockholm Initiative Meeting on Nuclear Disarmament,' a multilateral conference on disarmament and non-proliferation, via video conference on the evening of the 5th, and said, “the international nuclear disarmament efforts of the Stockholm Initiative must continue.”

The 'Stockholm Initiative' is a consultative body composed of 16 non-nuclear-weapon states seeking a joint stance on nuclear disarmament, including South Korea, Japan, Germany, Canada, and Indonesia.

Regarding the North Korean nuclear issue, Vice Minister Choi explained the government's efforts for the Korean Peninsula peace process aimed at complete denuclearization and permanent peace on the peninsula, and requested continued support from the international community.

This meeting was held to discuss progress in nuclear disarmament and ways to strengthen the NPT regime ahead of the 50th anniversary review conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) scheduled for early next year.

The participating countries agreed on the need to continuously strive to implement the 'Concrete Proposals for Nuclear Disarmament Progress' adopted at the 2nd ministerial meeting held in February last year.

The 'Concrete Proposals' mainly include recognition of the necessity for nuclear-weapon states to refrain from using nuclear weapons and to advance nuclear disarmament, the possibility of extending and expanding the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between the U.S. and Russia, and support for establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East.

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