Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the UN

Disarmament and Non-proliferation

The Republic of Korea has actively participated in international disarmament and non-proliferation efforts. The Korean Government has acceded to, and faithfully complied, with all major international instruments, such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
The Republic of Korea is also committed to the causes of completely eliminating biological and chemical weapons. Advances in bio-technology are increasing the potential threat posed by biological weapons. Therefore, the Korean Government believes that the international community should tackle the important task of creating a verification regime of the BWC as soon as possible. Furthermore, the Korean Government has supported the activities of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) since its establishment.
The proliferation of missiles as a means of delivery of WMDs seriously undermines international peace and stability. In view of the current absence of international norms regulating the proliferation of missiles, the Korean Government shares the view that the international community should explore multilateral norms in this regard. Given the complexities inherent to this issue, the Korean Government believes that a step-by-step approach would be most practical.
Strengthening existing disarmament agreements is no less important than producing new ones. The non-acceptance of existing norms by any country not only sets a negative precedent for implementing those norms but also hampers future disarmament initiatives. The issue of attaining universality and full compliance is indeed a cross-cutting issue pertaining to all internationally legally binding instruments. The Korean Government is of the view that the international community should continues to make efforts to develop appropriate responses to ensure universal adherence to, and full compliance with, all agreements related to eliminating weapons of mass destruction in a more vigorous and comprehensive manner.