North Korea took over the rotating presidency of the 65-member Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament amid widespread disapproval, given that the leader of the rogue nation, Kim Jong-un, has repeatedly hinted at an imminent nuclear test, the country’s first since 2017.
Dozens of non-governmental organisations have urged countries to boycott the three-week event, which is the world’s most major multilateral disarmament conference.
BREAKING: 🇰🇵 North Korea has just taken over as chair of the Conference on Disarmament here at the United Nations in Geneva. This is not a joke.
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) May 30, 2022
When they preside at tomorrow's meeting, our coalition of 40 UN-accredited NGOs is calling on all democracies to walk out.
Though participating nations refused to give into these demands, representatives from the United States (US), the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Korea, and other nations used the platform to slam NK over several recent weapons tests, including of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and hypersonic weapons. Several nations also sent lower-level diplomats in protest.
Australian Ambassador Amanda Gorely, for instance, said, “We remain gravely concerned about the Democratic People’’s Republic of Korea’s reckless actions which continue to seriously undermine the very value of the Disarmament Conference.”
She further insisted that the countries’ willingness to be “in the room” should not be interpreted as “tacit consent” for Pyongyang’s violations of international law.
In a joint statement representing the views of 48 nations and the European Union, Gorely expressed “grave concerns” about North Korea’s “reckleess actions,” referring to its “continued advancement of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile capabilities.”
She thus urged the country to “cease its destabilising actions and to comply with its international obligations under relevant UN Security Council resolutions to abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs, as well as any other WMD and ballistic missiles programs, in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.” She further called on Pyongyang to comply with the Non-Proliferation Treaty and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards, ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), and “observe a moratorium on nuclear test explosions.”
Meanwhile, in a press briefing yesterday, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price described North Korea as “far from a responsible actor when it comes to matters of nonproliferation.” In this regard, he questioned North Korea’s presidency, saying, “It certainly does call that into question when you have a regime like the DPRK in a senior leadership post, a regime that has done as much as any other government around the world to erode the non-proliferation norm.”
.@StateDeptSpox: North Korea taking helm of Disarmament Conference “certainly calls into question the utility of the organization when you have a regime like the DPRK in a senior leadership post [which] has done as much as any around the world to erode the nonproliferation norm.” pic.twitter.com/NJ6J3k9VFk
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) June 3, 2022
On the contrary, China, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Russia are among the countries that have expressed support for North Korea’s presidency.
North Korea’s ambassador, Han Tae-Song, acknowledged that he had “taken note” of the joint statement, but responded to these concerns by asserting: “My country is still at war with the United States.” He then underscored that “No country has the right to criticise or interfere in the national defence policy.”
Han further stressed that North Korea “remains committed to contributing to global peace and disarmament and attaches importance to the work of the conference.”
North Korea has launched at least 17 weapons tests this year. Both American and South Korean intelligence agencies have warned that the country is gearing up for its seventh nuclear test following a five-year hiatus. In fact, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service has said North Korea has already “completed its preparations.” To this end, US spy satellites have spotted new tunnels in areas where such tests have taken place in the past.
In fact, at a military parade in April, Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un vowed to “continue to take steps to strengthen and develop” the country’s nuclear capabilities “at the highest possible speed.” Last month, he once again ordered officials to continue advancing the nuclear programme despite a spiralling COVID-19 crisis.
Kim has also not shied away from warning that he is ready to launch preemptive nuclear strikes, a threat that has also been echoed by his sister Kim Yo-jong, who has warned of “total destruction and ruin.”