CTBTO Statement on Korea

Statement by Lassina Zerbo, Executive Secretary, Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO)

Vienna, 27 April 2018

The Executive Secretary appreciates the progress made at today’s historic summit between the leaders of the two Koreas to advance peace on the Korean Peninsula.

He applauds the commitment to “complete denuclearisation” as pledged in the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula.

He especially noted the agreement by South and North Korea to seek actively the support and cooperation of the international community in the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. In this spirit the Executive Secretary expresses the readiness of the CTBTO to provide all possible assistance.

The Executive Secretary strongly believes that the signature of the CTBT by the DPRK is an important initial step toward denuclearisation.

Background

The CTBT bans all nuclear explosions. The Treaty will enter into force once signed and ratified by the remaining eight nuclear technology holder countries: China, Egypt, the DPRK, India, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, and the United States.

A verification regime is being built to monitor compliance with the Treaty. Nearly 90 percent of the 337 facilities of the International Monitoring System (IMS) are already in place. The system swiftly, reliably and precisely detected all six DPRK declared nuclear tests. After the DPRK announced nuclear test on 12 February 2013, the CTBTO was the only organization to detect radioactivity attributable to the event.

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