GPPAC Northeast Asia Statement Condemning the DPRK's Nuclear Testing, Northeast Asian Citizens Call for Immediate Talks for Peace We, citizens of Northeast Asia, are gravely concerned at the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s announcement that it conducted a nuclear test on October 9, 2006. We strongly condemn the test. At the same time it is clear that hostile policies and the “axis of evil” rhetoric of the United States were counterproductive and only exacerbated tension. We need to strengthen our cooperative efforts in the region to prevent armed confrontation and chain reactions of nuclearization and militarization in Northeast Asia. We support the efforts of those governments and civil society members who are trying to find a solution based on dialog and negotiation. We commit ourselves to unite and work to establish a nuclear-weapon-free zone and a lasting peace mechanism in Northeast Asia, through dismantling the remaining Cold War structure, which has constituted a root cause of the present crisis. We are united in calling for the following: 1.We call on the DPRK not to conduct any further nuclear tests, to take prompt action towards the complete abandonment of nuclear weapons programs, and to return to the Six-Party Talks and any other multilateral and bilateral talks for denuclearization. 2.We call on all the related governments, including in particular the US, Republic of Korea (ROK), Japan, China, and Russia to reconvene immediately the Six-Party Talks or any other dialog format to resolve this crisis peacefully. In particular, we urge the US to respond to the DPRK's call for bilateral talks between the two nations. The talks should be based on the comprehensive framework provided by the Six-Party Joint Statement of September 2005, in which the DPRK committed to abandon its nuclear weapons programs, and the US, Japan and others committed to guarantee the DPRK's security and work towards the normalization of diplomatic relations and economic cooperation. Governments must refrain from any military or other reckless reactions that could worsen the situation. 3.We urge the members of the United Nations Security Council not to allow any kind of military action or other counter-productive measures that might lead to a humanitarian crisis or escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Economic sanctions so far have not brought about a positive change in the nuclear crisis in the DPRK and have only had negative consequences for the humanitarian situation. Therefore, we strongly urge the UN to be mindful of the ineffectiveness of such measures to date, before imposing economic and other types of sanctions on the DPRK. The UN Secretary-General and the UN officials in political and disarmament affairs are encouraged to promote talks among the concerned parties. 4.We urge the mass media and other civil society sectors to refrain from any behavior that promotes hostile sentiments or violence among citizens in the region. Instead, we urge focus on perspectives such as civil efforts for peaceful settlement, the humanitarian situation in the DPRK, and the negative consequences of any further nuclearization or militarization of Northeast Asia. October 13, 2006 Signed by: AU Pak Kuen (Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union, Hong Kong) Jau-hwa CHEN (Soochow University, Taipei) Marx CHEN (Alliance for Peace Homeland, Taipei) ENKHSAIKHAN Jargalsaikhan (Blue Banner, Ulaanbaatar) Vadim GAPONENKO (Center For International Studies, Maritime State University, Vladivostok) JUNG Gyung Lan (Women Making Peace, Seoul) KAWASAKI Akira (Peace Boat, Tokyo) Viktor KONONOV (Charitable non-profit organization 'Club 'Raft', Vladivostok) Viktor KORSKOV (International Public Institute for Culture of Peace, Vladivostok) LEE Jae Young (Korea Anabaptist Center, Seoul) Kathy MATSUI (Seisen University, Tokyo) MUSHAKOJI Kinhide (International Movement Against Alll Forms of Discrimination and Racism, Tokyo) NIU Qiang (People's Association for Peace and Disarmament, Beijing) SASAMOTO Jun (Japanese Lawyers International Solidarity Association, Tokyo) Lauren SAUER (Korean Anabaptist Center, Seoul) SHEN Dingli (Center for American Studies, Fudan University, Shanghai) Olga YACUCENKO (Russian Peace Fund, Primorskiy Regional Branch, Vladivostok) Philip YANG (National Taiwan University, Taipei) YOSHIOKA Tatsuya (GPPAC Northeast Asia Regional Initiator, Tokyo) *The above is the initial list as of October 13, 2006. *Affiliation in bracket is for identification purpose only. *This statement was drafted and facilitated in the Northeast Asian network of Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC-NEA). Further information: KAWASAKI Akira (Peace Boat/GPPAC-NEA Secretariat) Tel:+81-3-3363-7561/Fax:+81-3-3363-7562/E-mail:gppac@peaceboat.gr.jp GPPACトップへ