1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a side event on “Addressing the DPRK’s Challenge to the Global Nuclear Non-proliferation Regime” in Vienna, Austria, on August 2 on the margins of the 1st Preparatory Committee for the 11th Review Conference of the Parties to the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT). This event was co-hosted with the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

2. At this side event, participants emphasized that the DPRK’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs pose a serious challenge to the international non-proliferation regime including the NPT, and reaffirmed that the DPRK’s denuclearization remains a priority issue in the NPT regime.

3. In his opening statement, Director-General for Nonproliferation and Nuclear Affairs Youn Jong Kwon expressed the strong commitment of the Government of the Republic of Korea to realize the denuclearization of the DPRK. He also called for unwavering support of the international community to this end.

4. Moreover, given that the DPRK has continuously developed its nuclear and missile program in violation of international norms including the NPT and United Nations Security Council resolutions after it unilaterally announced its withdrawal from the NPT 30 years ago, Director-General Youn stressed that how we address the DPRK challenges would not only serve as a strong message that its illegal nuclear and ballistic missile programs will never be tolerated, but be essential to upholding the relevance and credibility of the NPT regime itself.

5. Furthermore, the Republic of Korea, together with France, the United States of America, Japan and other like-minded states, prepared a joint statement on the DPRK issue for delivery during the Preparatory Committee. In the joint statement, participating states express deep concern on the DPRK’s continuous development of its nuclear and missile capabilities, call upon the DPRK to return to the NPT obligations and IAEA safeguards, and urge the DPRK to take concrete steps to abandon all nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles and related programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.