Statement by Ambassador Mitsuru Kitano at the Board of Governors Meeting starting on Monday, 6 June 2016 Agenda Item 8(d): Application of safeguards in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

2016/6/8
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
 
North Korea’s ongoing nuclear and missile-related activities pose serious threat to peace and security not just in Northeast Asia but to the entire international community. They are in clear violation of relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions. It is totally unacceptable that North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January this year, and has since continued to engage in nuclear programmes and acts of provocation, in defiance of the repeated condemnation and warnings by the international community. I stress once again the importance for the international community to act in a resolute manner, including the strict implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2270 adopted in March this year.
 
Japan once again strongly urges North Korea to sincerely take the strong warnings and condemnation repeatedly expressed by the international community to comply faithfully and fully with the series of relevant Security Council resolutions including Resolution 2270 without taking further provocative actions such as nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches, and to take positive steps toward denuclearization. In particular, North Korea is required to abandon all its nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programmes, including any uranium enrichment activities, in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner, to immediately cease all related activities, to retract its announcement of withdrawal from the NPT, and to act strictly in accordance with its IAEA Safeguards Agreement.
 
In this regard, I would like to stress that the IAEA, as an organization that assumes the role of verifying North Korea’s nuclear activities, has called on North Korea to take concrete actions through the series of Board of Governors and General Conference resolutions. In response to the continuing violations and provocation by North Korea, IAEA Member States need to be even more united in sending strong messages. Japan highly appreciates the Agency’s continued readiness to resume its activities in North Korea, including the collection of relevant information, under the current circumstances where the Agency is not able to conduct verification activities on the ground. It is of critical importance that human, technical and budgetary resources necessary for this purpose are secured. We hope that the IAEA will continue to play an important role in resolving the North Korean nuclear issues.
 
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
 
 
The Practical Export Control Workshop was hosted by the Wassenaar Arrangement as part of its 20th Anniversary programs and held at the Permanent Mission of Japan to the International Organizations in Vienna on 27 and 28 June 2016. More than 100 government representatives from 46 countries participated in the technically focused Practical Workshop.
 
Workshop speakers included the 2016 WA Plenary Chair Ambassador Anu Laamanen (Finland), 2016 WA General Working Group Chair Ambassador Paul Beijer (Sweden), 2015-2016 WA Experts Group Chair Robertas Rosinas (Lithuania), 2016 WA Licensing and Enforcement Officers Meeting Chair Jon Erik Strömö (Norway), as well as the Head of the WA Secretariat, Ambassador Philip Griffiths. The WA control lists as well as export licensing and enforcement topics were covered during the two days.
 
The following link from WA’s webpage contains more details:
http://www.wassenaar.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/June-2016-Workshop-media-release.pdf