Press releases, 03.09.2017

Switzerland condemns the latest nuclear test that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea claims to have conducted on 3 September 2017. This test violates the United Nations Security Council resolutions, constitutes a threat to peace and security in the region and undermines the efforts made by the international community to strengthen the global non-proliferation of nuclear weapons regime, especially those being made to implement the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

In resolutions 1718 (2006), 1874 (2009), 2087 (2013), 2270 and 2321 (2016), and 2356 and 2371 (2017), the United Nations Security Council calls upon the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to abandon all its ballistic missile and nuclear programmes in a verifiable and irreversible manner. Switzerland thus condemns this new nuclear test, as it did the five previous tests conducted by the DPRK.

Switzerland is convinced that the only way of resolving the nuclear and security issues on the Korean peninsula is through a process of diplomatic negotiation. Furthermore, it remains willing to respond to any request for help that could further efforts to build peace and stability in the area.

Switzerland takes active steps to promote the non-proliferation and total elimination of nuclear weapons, any use of which would have disastrous humanitarian consequences. It has urged the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on several occasions to re-adopt the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), from which it withdrew in 2003, and to return to its safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Switzerland also calls once more on all states that have not yet signed and ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) to do so as soon as possible so that it may enter into force.


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