International Reactions To The 2006 North Korean Nuclear Test - Multinational Organisations

Multinational Organisations

• Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization Preparatory Commission: On 9 October, Tibor Tóth, Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) said in his statement “Such an action goes against the letter and the spirit of the, which I continue to hope that the will sign and ratify.” Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko, then Chairperson of the CTBTO, stated that the test and DPRK’s activities “constitute a threat to international peace and security and deserve universal condemnation.” On 13 October, CTBTO held in Vienna a Special Session where its 176 Member States at the time were briefed on the data and analyses they had been receiving from the CTBTO in the previous days.
• European Union: The European Union presidency said in a statement that "This test profoundly jeopardises regional stability and represents a severe threat to international peace and security." Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the Commissioner for External Relations, stated that the EU has no plans to cut humanitarian aid to North Korea but stressed that the tests were "unacceptable". She also reiterated calls by the EU Presidency for North Korea to return to the six-nation talks and halt all testing of nuclear devices.
• International Atomic Energy Agency: The IAEA issued a statement saying that the IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei "deeply regrets, and expresses serious concern, about the reported carrying-out of a nuclear test earlier today by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)," and that it "threatens the nuclear non-proliferation regime and creates serious security challenges not only for the East Asian region but also for the international community." ElBaradei emphasised the affront caused by violating the de facto worldwide ban against nuclear testing which had existed for almost a decade before the North Korean test, and emphasised the need for all countries to enter into the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
• NATO: The NATO military alliance published a statement saying that it "condemns in the strongest terms possible the North Korean nuclear weapon test. This test poses an extremely serious threat to peace and security in the Pacific region and the world." The alliance wants North Korea to return to the six-party talks.
• United Nations: The United Nations Security Council met on Monday, October 9 in New York on an emergency session to discuss the issue. All five veto-wielding permanent members, including China, once North Korea's most supportive neighbour, condemned the nuclear test. Wang Guangya, the Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations had earlier stated that "no one is going to protect North Korea" if it engages in "bad behaviour".However, on October 10, dissensions emerged within the Council over how exactly to tackle the problem. Japan and the United States pressed for sanctions with the threat of military action with U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations John Bolton stating that while the United States had a “clear preference” for a diplomatic solution, the threat of force was on the table. Chinese President Hu Jintao however, called for the United States to "avoid actions that may lead to escalation or loss of control of the situation".