1. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha attended the Security Council Ministerial Meeting on the Non-proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) in New York on September 21, local time, at the invitation of the President of the Security Council. In the meeting, Minister Kang called for the international community’s united and firm response to resolve the North Korean nuclear and missile issue, which is the greatest threat to the global non-proliferation regime.

o Among the participants in the meeting were nine ministerial officials, including US Secretary of State Tillerson and Japanese Foreign Minister Kono, as well as delegates from the Security Council members, UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Nakamitsu, and Minister Kang of the ROK, a county directly involved. The participants discussed ways to respond to global non-proliferation issues, including North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile development, the use of chemical weapons in Syria, and the risks of proliferation by non-state actors.

2. Minister Kang reaffirmed the ROK government’s firm commitment to contributing to strengthening the global WMD non-proliferation regime, and said that North Korea’s continued nuclear and missile provocations, including its sixth nuclear test, and the North’s growing nuclear and missile capabilities are posing the most urgent and serious threat to the global WMD non-proliferation regime. She took note that the international community has shown stern responses, including by quickly adopting Security Council Resolution 2375 containing strong sanctions.

o Minister Kang stressed that North Korea should understand continued provocations will only deepen its diplomatic isolation and intensify the economic pressure that will lead the North to ruin, and that North Korea should take the path towards denuclearization for its security and economic development.

o Minister Kang also emphasized that the international community should take the urgency of the North Korean nuclear issue seriously, and stand together in fully implementing Security Council resolutions on North Korea in order to bring the North to the negotiation table for denuclearization as early as possible.

o She stressed that the ROK government, in close cooperation with the international community, will continue efforts to achieve the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of the North Korean nuclear program in a peaceful manner and to establish a permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.

3. The Security Council members expressed concern over the serious threats that the proliferation of WMD poses to global peace and security, including North Korea’s development of nuclear and missile programs, the use of chemical weapons in Syria, and the possibility of non-state actors acquiring WMD. They called on the international community to unite in faithfully implementing Security Council resolutions on non-proliferation, including resolutions on North Korea, and strengthening the global non-proliferation regime, including the NPT.

o The Security Council Ministerial Meeting served as an opportunity to reaffirm the international community’s firm commitment to solving the North Korean nuclear problem, which is a key issue facing the global non-proliferation regime, as well as send a strong warning from the international community against North Korea’s additional provocation.


* unofficial translation