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Japan upbraids N Korea at UN General Assembly
United Nations, Sept 24: Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi took North Korea to task at the UN General Assembly, calling on Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons programme.
United Nations, Sept 24: Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi took North Korea to task at the UN General Assembly, calling on Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons programme.
"The development and possession of nuclear weapons by North Korea must never be tolerated," Kawaguchi said in a speech to the annual gathering of world leaders in New York yesterday.
"Japan once again urges North Korea to immediately and completely dismantle all of its nuclear development programmes in a verifiable and irreversible manner," she said.
The Foreign Minister said Tokyo also required a solution to the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the late 1970s and early 1980s, before it could consider normalising relations with Pyongyang. In a wide-ranging address, Kawaguchi highlighted several regional issues by calling for the release of Myanmar's detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and pushing for the trial of Khmer Rouge leaders in Cambodia.
She also issued a strong call for reform of the UN Security Council and reiterated Japan's desire for a permanent seat on the body. "The perpetuation of the same basic structure of the Security Council of 60 years ago leads many to question the legitimacy under which the United Nations operates," she said.
On the question of Iraq, Kawaguchi said Japan expected the adoption of a new Security Council resolution in which "the path towards Iraqi self-governance will be clarified". Bureau Report
"Japan once again urges North Korea to immediately and completely dismantle all of its nuclear development programmes in a verifiable and irreversible manner," she said.
The Foreign Minister said Tokyo also required a solution to the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the late 1970s and early 1980s, before it could consider normalising relations with Pyongyang. In a wide-ranging address, Kawaguchi highlighted several regional issues by calling for the release of Myanmar's detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and pushing for the trial of Khmer Rouge leaders in Cambodia.
She also issued a strong call for reform of the UN Security Council and reiterated Japan's desire for a permanent seat on the body. "The perpetuation of the same basic structure of the Security Council of 60 years ago leads many to question the legitimacy under which the United Nations operates," she said.
On the question of Iraq, Kawaguchi said Japan expected the adoption of a new Security Council resolution in which "the path towards Iraqi self-governance will be clarified". Bureau Report