G8 Ministers Condemn North Korea 'in Strongest Terms'
G8 foreign ministers on Thursday strongly condemned North Korea over its nuclear program.
After a two-day meeting in London, the ministers including U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned Pyongyang it faced further sanctions in the event of a missile launch that is expected imminently, amid soaring tensions on the Korean peninsula.
North Korea was the focus of talks on Thursday and the ministers "condemned in the strongest possible terms the continued development of its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs" including uranium enrichment, they said in a statement.
North Korea was in direct violation of four U.N. Security Council resolutions, it said, adding that Pyongyang's nuclear test on February 12, 2013 -- its third since 2006 -- and two missile launches last year "threaten international peace and security".
The Group of Eight industrialized nations welcomed a Security Council resolution last month to respond with further sanctions to the nuclear test and take further action in the event of a missile launch.
"Ministers supported the commitment in the (U.N.) resolution to strengthen the current sanctions regime and take further significant measures in the event of a further launch or nuclear test by the DPRK," the final statement said.
Kerry is due to visit South Korea and Japan after he leaves Britain.
But while Russia's agreement on the G8's stance allowed them to take on North Korea, Moscow's continuing support of President Bashar Assad meant there was little direct condemnation of the Syrian regime.
They also made no mention of supplying arms to the rebels as the Syrian opposition have demanded, saying only that there should be greater "humanitarian" assistance for those caught up in a conflict that is now in its third year.
It called on all countries to maximize their contributions to the latest U.N. appeals for humanitarian aid for Syria, and urged all sides in the conflict, which has now entered its third year, to respect human rights.
Any use of chemical weapons "would demand a serious international response", the ministers added.
Source: Agence France Presse
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/79135 |