Security Council Close to Reinforcing Ban on Nuke Testing

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Spurred by North Korea’s fifth nuclear weapon test explosion on September 9, the UN Security Council is expected to adopt before the end of September a resolution reinforcing the de facto global ban on nuclear weapons testing established 20 years ago by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

According to the Washington-based Arms Control Association, the Council’s five permanent members (P5) – the United States, UK, France, Russia and China – would complement the resolution by a separate political statement reiterating their support for the object and purpose of the CTBT.

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DPRK Nuclear Test Calls For Dumping Cold War Responses

Analysis by Kalinga Seneviratne

BANGKOK (IDN) – Even before the ink dried up on a statement issued in the Laotian capital Vientiane by the East Asia Summit (EAS) on nuclear proliferation, North Korea announced the successful testing of a nuclear bomb that has focused attention in the region on increasing militarization.

Pyongyang’s latest weapons testing came less than a day after the EAS leaders adopted a statement urging it to give up its nuclear and missile programs. It was the first time that the 18-member regional body, which also includes the United States, China, Russia and Japan, adopted a single-issue statement other than the chairman’s statement. [P22] CHINESE TEXT VERSION PDF | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF

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DPRK Nuclear Test Calls For Dumping Cold War Responses

 Analysis by Kalinga Seneviratne

BANGKOK (IDN) – Even before the ink dried up on a statement issued in the Laotian capital Vientiane by the East Asia Summit (EAS) on nuclear proliferation, North Korea announced the successful testing of a nuclear bomb that has focused attention in the region on increasing militarization.

Pyongyang’s latest weapons testing came less than a day after the EAS leaders adopted a statement urging it to give up its nuclear and missile programs. It was the first time that the 18-member regional body, which also includes the United States, China, Russia and Japan, adopted a single-issue statement other than the chairman’s statement. [P22] CHINESE TEXT VERSION PDF | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF

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Kampanje for nedrustning – I Bergen

Av Lowana Veal

BERGEN (IDN) – Norge er en av grunnleggerne av den nordatlantiske traktats organisasjon (NATO), nyter Alliansens beskyttelse som en kjernefysisk paraply stat og likevel viden kjent for sin tilknytning til fredsspørsmål: ikke bare for å arrangere den første internasjonale konferansen om de humanitære konsekvensene av kjernevåpen i Oslo mars 2013.

“Norge tok (også) ledelsen i Oslo-prosessen som kulminerte i underskrivingen av Konvensjonen om klaseammunisjon i 2008”, sier Hitotsugu Terasaki, direktør for fred og globale spørsmål hos Soka Gakkai International (SGI).

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Fifth DPRK Nuclear Test is Alarming and Cause for Action

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN-INPS) – North Korea’s fifth nuclear test explosion is yet another unpleasant reminder that the threat posed by its nuclear program continues to grow, according to Arms Control Association Executive Director Daryl G. Kimball and Director for Nonproliferation Policy Kelsey Davenport.

In a statement on September 9, they warn: “Current international efforts to constrain Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile activities are woefully inadequate. Tough international sanctions and condemnation has failed to prevent North Korea from conducting nuclear tests and has failed to constrain its ballistic missile program.”

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NAPF Condemns DPRK Nuke Test; Urges Broader Perspective

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN-INPS) – The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF) deplores the continued testing of nuclear weapons and the provocative statements by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). September 9 nuclear test – the fifth by North Korea – makes apparent the growing nuclear dangers in the Northeast Asian region, and generally throughout the world.

The world’s other eight nuclear-armed nations have tested a great deal. Over 2,000 nuclear tests have been conducted worldwide, and the United States alone has conducted over 1,000 nuclear tests.

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Nuclear Disarmament Campaign Targets Norway’s Bergen

By Lowana Veal

BERGEN (IDN) – Norway is a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), enjoying the Alliance’s protection as a nuclear umbrella state and yet widely known for its association with peace issues: not only for hosting the first international Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons in Oslo in March 2013.

“Norway (also) took the lead in the Oslo Process which culminated in the signing of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in 2008,” said Hitotsugu Terasaki, director general of peace and global issues at the Soka Gakkai International (SGI). [P21] ARABIC | ITALIAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | NORWEGIAN | PORTUGUESE | SPANISH |  SWEDISH | TURKISH

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Nuclear Disarmament Campaign Targets Norway’s Bergen

By Lowana Veal

BERGEN (IDN) – Norway is a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), enjoying the Alliance’s protection as a nuclear umbrella state and yet widely known for its association with peace issues: not only for hosting the first international Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons in Oslo in March 2013.

“Norway (also) took the lead in the Oslo Process which culminated in the signing of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in 2008,” said Hitotsugu Terasaki, director general of peace and global issues at the Soka Gakkai International (SGI). [P21] ARABIC | ITALIAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | NORWEGIAN | PORTUGUESE | SPANISH | SWEDISH | TURKISH

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What After North Korea’s Fifth Nuclear Test?

Viewpoint by Tariq Rauf*

STOCKHOLM (IDN) – The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has reported that at 00:30 UTC, a seismic event magnitude 5.3 was detected in North Korea that possibly could be the second nuclear test carried out this year by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK/North Korea). The DPRK carried out its fourth nuclear test in January this year, following earlier tests in 2013, 2009 and 2006. Early speculative estimates put the yield close to that of the Hiroshima bomb (10-15 kilotons), which makes it the most powerful DPRK test to date.

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Mongolia’s Contribution to a Nuclear-Weapon Free World

Viewpoint by Dr. Jargalsaikhany Enkhsaikan*

This is a slightly abridged version of the Mongolian Blue Banner NGO President Dr. Jargalsaikhany Enkhsaikan’s address to the Astana Conference on August 29 to mark the 25th anniversary of the closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site.

ULAN BATOR | ASTANA (IDN-INPS) – Abolition of nuclear weapons is an ambitious goal that reflects seven decades of peoples’ aspirations and hopes to do away with this weapon of mass destruction. The paradox of the post cold war period is that though the number of nuclear weapons has been reduced, the number of states possessing such weapons has increased.

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