1. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se attended and delivered opening remarks at the meeting of the Group of Eminent Persons (GEM) of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) held in Seoul on July 25. In his remarks, the Foreign Minister conveyed the position of the government of the Republic of Korea on the envisioned entry of the CTBT into force and the North Korean nuclear issue. In addition, he commended GEM for its efforts to expedite the CTBT’s entry into force.

2. Minister Yun, underscoring the need for an early entry into force of the CTBT that will serve as a major pillar for the international nuclear non-proliferation regime, asked for attention and efforts of the international community.

◦ Furthermore, as ways toward the CTBT’s early effectuation, he proposed that the international community consider conducting outreach campaigns targeted at the eight hold-out states; and holding a special high-level meeting to mark the 20th anniversary of the CTBT in 2016 with a view to facilitating its entry into force.

3. Calling the North Korean nuclear issue the most serious challenge to the global non-proliferation regime, Minister Yun pointed out that the international community will not accept a nuclear armed North Korea.

◦ He noted that if North Korea, the only country to have conducted nuclear weapon tests in the 21st century, signs and ratifies the CTBT, it would send a strong signal in the path towards denuclearization. He went on to say that in that vein, the ROK is working to make the efforts for North Korea’s denuclearization and peace-building on the Korean Peninsula mutually reinforcing.

4. In addition, Minister Yun spoke about the ROK’s active participation in international efforts to strengthen the global nuclear non-proliferation regime, such as by hosting the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) in 2012; chairing the 1540 Committee as a member of the UN Security Council from 2013 to 2014; and planning to chair the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) from 2016 to 2017.

5. Minister Yun, through his opening remarks at the CTBTO GEM meeting, is seen to have played a role in broadly informing the international community of the ROK government’s policy on nuclear non-proliferation in the year marking the 70th anniversary of the division of the Korean Peninsula and the 65th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. He is also seen to have delivered to the international community a message urging North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions as well as peace, stability and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and to have won broader international support for the ROK government’s position in that regard.

6. Invited by Minister Yun, eight members of the CTBTO GEM, a group composed of internationally influential, renowned personages in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation, and CTBTO Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo attended the GEM meeting in Seoul, which was co-hosted by the ROK Foreign Ministry and the CTBT secretariat, and sought ways to expedite the CTBT’s entry into force.


* unofficial translation