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Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se urged North Korea Thursday to return to stalled multilateral negotiations on its nuclear dismantlement, citing ongoing talks for an Iranian nuclear deal.
"North Korea is the only country to have conducted nuclear weapons tests in the 21st century," he said in an address to a meeting of the Group of Eminent Persons for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
"Despite international efforts, it is going down a misguided and anachronistic path, arguing that it can have both guns and butter."
Yun also urged North Korea to sign and ratify the CTBT, saying its nuclear weapons programs present a serious challenge to the global nonproliferation regime.
The CTBT, which opened for signing in 1996, has yet to come into force because eight nations with nuclear capabilities, including North Korea, Iran, and the U.S., have been reluctant to sign or ratify the deal.
Iran, however, is nearing a deal to curb its nuclear program in exchange for international sanctions relief with the so-called P5+1 comprised of the U.S., China, Russia, France, Germany and Britain.
"Pyongyang would do well to take a lesson from the Iranian case and return to the dialogue table," Yun said. "Nukes bring nothing but isolation and sanctions."
The six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program have been stalled since late 2008. The other five member nations are South Korea, Japan, China, Russia and the U.S.
On South Korea's bilateral ties with the North, Yun said, "Our door for inter-Korean dialogue remains wide open." (Yonhap)
"North Korea is the only country to have conducted nuclear weapons tests in the 21st century," he said in an address to a meeting of the Group of Eminent Persons for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
"Despite international efforts, it is going down a misguided and anachronistic path, arguing that it can have both guns and butter."
Yun also urged North Korea to sign and ratify the CTBT, saying its nuclear weapons programs present a serious challenge to the global nonproliferation regime.
The CTBT, which opened for signing in 1996, has yet to come into force because eight nations with nuclear capabilities, including North Korea, Iran, and the U.S., have been reluctant to sign or ratify the deal.
Iran, however, is nearing a deal to curb its nuclear program in exchange for international sanctions relief with the so-called P5+1 comprised of the U.S., China, Russia, France, Germany and Britain.
"Pyongyang would do well to take a lesson from the Iranian case and return to the dialogue table," Yun said. "Nukes bring nothing but isolation and sanctions."
The six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program have been stalled since late 2008. The other five member nations are South Korea, Japan, China, Russia and the U.S.
On South Korea's bilateral ties with the North, Yun said, "Our door for inter-Korean dialogue remains wide open." (Yonhap)
