Statements

As is well known, the Nuclear-Free Zone has expanded to include south-eastern Asia (Treaty of Bangkok, 1995) and Africa (Treaty of Berindaba, 1996). And since Latin America (Treaty of Tlatelolco, 1967) and the South Pacific (Treaty of Rarotonga, 1985) joined the list during the Cold War period, the whole Southern Hemisphere including the South Pole shines as a beacon to the Nuclear-Free Zone.

Naturally, the determination of the Southern Hemisphere countries to sign the treaties has had a positive influence on the Northern Hemisphere, and now both space and the seabed have been included in the Nuclear-Free Zone.

We are also very proud of the great contribution made by the Government of Japan to the treaty of the Nuclear-Free Zone in Central Asia, signed on September 8th　this year. We see a single but distinct light as well illuminating the path toward the abolition of nuclear weapons given the Japanese publicﾕs desire for a Nuclear-Free Zone in Northeastern Asia. We welcomed the statement by the Foreign Ministry of the DPRK on October 3rd this year clearly stating the ultimate objective of North Korea is denuclearization by the total elimination of the threat of the nuclear weapons from the Korean peninsula and surrounding area, by which we understood that North Korea was also hoping for a Nuclear-Free Zone in Northeastern Asia.

However, only six days after this statement, a seismic disturbance assumed to be a nuclear explosion in Northeastern North Korea was detected at 10:35 am on October 9th, and North Koreaﾕs central broadcasting service announced triumphantly an underground nuclear test had been carried out. The announcement was an affront to the international community, and not only do we strongly oppose their actions, but we also demand that North Korea be held fully responsible for them. As people pursuing security in the Korean Peninsula and Northeastern Asia, including Japan, and hoping for the expansion of the Nuclear-Free Zone, we condemn in the strongest possible terms the reckless conduct of North Korea. As people of a country whose constitution renounces war, and as human beings living in the country that experienced the A- bomb tragedy of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, we propose to North Korea and the countries concerned, the following three provisions.

1. Returning to the principle of the denuclearization of Asia, North Korea should abandon the development of nuclear weapons.
2. The international community under the United Nations should work with common and concerted effort to resolve the situation through diplomacy, avoiding the threat of military action.
3. All countries currently possessing nuclear weapons should make sincere moves toward their abolishment, since no country can persuade another to abandon nuclear weapons without renouncing its own.

To this end, we must begin by endorsing the terms of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty as adopted by the United Nations in September 1996 and since ratified by thirty-four countries.
By realizing our three provisions with care and courage, we believe the Northern Hemisphere will be an entirely Nuclear-Free Zone in the near future.
We must appeal once again to North Korea and the countries concerned. Nuclear weapons can never produce security and happiness. It is only the tragedy of hell that they produce.

October 16th, 2006