Cloak of peace - and a warning

Phil Goff

North Korea's nuclear test added new impetus to efforts to achieve an end to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, Disarmament Minister Phil Goff said yesterday.

Mr Goff made the comments while in Nagasaki, Japan, at the unveiling of a New Zealand sculpture at Peace Park. The park is near ground zero, where the Americans dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki in 1945.

"The threat posed by the proliferation of nuclear weapons has got worse with North Korea becoming the latest country to test a nuclear bomb," Mr Goff said.

"This threatens to destabilise the region. North Korea's actions add new impetus to the need for the world to do more to achieve an end to weapons of mass destruction."

Countries committed to nuclear disarmament, such as New Zealand and Japan, needed to work together to ensure the risk of a nuclear holocaust was avoided.

New Zealand has joined Japan and other countries in condemning North Korea's nuclear test.

The sculpture, Te Korowai Rangimarie, the Cloak of Peace, was a gift from New Zealand to the people of Nagasaki. The project was commissioned by the Peace Foundation.

The Government, six local authorities, the Lotteries Board, and the Peace and Disarmament Education Trust funded the project.

* A United Nations treaty designed to stop the carriage of weapons of mass destruction by sea has not been ratified by a single country, including the United States, despite it being formally agreed a year ago. The fact emerged this week as world powers grappled with enforcing UN sanctions on North Korea that include the inspection of seaborne cargo and possible ship searches in international waters.

- NZPA, REUTERS