MEXICO CONDEMNS THE DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA’S THIRD NUCLEAR TEST

• Mexico joins the international condemnation of the nuclear test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

• Mexico reiterates its commitment to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

The Mexican government condemns the nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on February 12, 2013. The test, which violates Security Council resolutions and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), is an open challenge to the calls the international community has made through the United Nations General Assembly resolutions and is contrary to the international community's efforts to promote dialogue, trust and cooperation to achieve peace on the Korean peninsula.

Mexico calls on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to abide by Security Council Resolutions 1718 (2006) and 1874 (2009), adopted under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter that require the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to suspend activities related to its nuclear program.

Furthermore, Mexico again urges the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to fulfill its commitments under the six-party dialogue, including those of the joint statement dated September 2005, and to abandon nuclear weapons, return to the NPT and accept its safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency in order to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

Mexico urges all States that have not yet acceded to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty to do so as soon as possible, and not to conduct nuclear tests and to refrain from actions contrary to the goal and purpose of the treaty. In this context, Mexico applauds the effectiveness of the treaty’s verification and monitoring system in detecting activities related to nuclear testing.

As a promoter of the first nuclear-weapon-free zone in a densely populated area in the world, Mexico reaffirms that there is no justification for having this type of weapon and deplores their manufacture, stockpiling and use. Mexico maintains that the only way to strengthen the non-proliferation regime is through nuclear disarmament, and the only guarantee against the use of nuclear weapons is their total elimination.

Forty-six years after it opened for signing on February 14, 1967, the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean, known as the Treaty of Tlatelolco, exemplifies Latin America’s commitment to and responsibility for contributing to international peace and security and not diverting resources away from development. Our region is committed to achieving a world free of nuclear weapons and avoiding the catastrophic humanitarian consequences that could be caused by these weapons.