21st April, 2018
The UN said it welcomed North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Un’s announcement that his country no longer needed nuclear weapons.
The country resort to nuclear armament had heightened tension between North Korea and South Korea.
Kim said earlier on Saturday that after conducting a total of six nuclear tests since 2006, further missile tests as part of the country’s nuclear weapons programme were no longer needed, reports said.
UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, said in a statement that the path was now open to a peaceful de-nuclearisation of the Peninsula following Kim’s announcement that nuclear and missile tests were to end.
In the statement released by his Spokesperson, Guterres described Kim’s decision as “a positive step forward”.
According to him, it will contribute to building trust between North Korea and its southern neighbour, South Korea, as well as other countries in the region.
In early March, the UN chief welcomed the announcement of an agreement between the U.S. and North Korea to hold a formal summit in the coming weeks.
The proposed summit followed months of rising tension between the two countries over North Korea’s refusal to stop ballistic tests.
Guterres said that he wished the leaders of both Korean countries “every success in their courageous and important task of resuming sincere dialogue, leading to sustainable peace on the Korean peninsula”.
An inter-Korean summit is due on April 27.
Guterres also commended the setting up of a direct telephone link between the two leaders which he hopes will “further build trust and narrow differences in understanding.”
U.S. President, Donald Trump, described the North’s decision to suspend tests as “good news” and South Korea’s President, Moon Jae-in’s office issued a statement saying the development represented a “significant step” towards de-nuclearisation.