New Zealand will apply diplomatic pressure to South Korea in a bid to prevent its planned killing of minke whales in coastal waters under the Japanese rationale of scientific research.
Prime Minister John Key said yesterday the Government's opposition to the "abhorrent" proposal would be conveyed through the embassy in Seoul and by Foreign Minister Murray McCully in talks with his South Korean counterpart, Kim Sung-hwan, next week.
International condemnation of the Koreans' plans is growing.
Yesterday Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Canberra remained totally opposed to whaling.
"There's no excuse for scientific whaling, and I have instructed our ambassador in South Korea to raise this matter today at the highest levels of the Korean Government," she said.