Switzerland condemns the nuclear test carried out by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea - FDFA Statement
Bern, 12.02.2013 - Switzerland condemns the new nuclear test which the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) announced that it had carried out on 12 February 2013. This test violates the Resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and runs counter to the efforts being made by the international community in the area of non-proliferation of nuclear arms, in particular those efforts undertaken within the scope of the implementation of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1718 (October 2006), 1874 (June 2009), and 2087 (22 January 2013) call upon the DPRK to abandon all types of ballistic and nuclear programmes in a verifiable and irrevocable manner. Switzerland therefore condemns this new nuclear test the same as it did on the occasion of the two previous tests conducted by the DPRK.
Switzerland is convinced that a solution to the issue of nuclear weapons and security on the Korean peninsula can only be found within the framework of a negotiated and diplomatic process. To this end, it reiterates its support of the process known as the Six-Party Talks. In addition, Switzerland remains ready to respond to any initiative capable of contributing to efforts to promote stability and peace on the Korean peninsula.
Switzerland is actively engaged in the support of non-proliferation and the total elimination of nuclear weapons, any utilization of which would entail catastrophic humanitarian consequences. On several occasions, it has urged the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to return to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (TNP), from which it withdrew in 2003, and to once again conclude a Safeguards Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
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