United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday expressed his "clear commitment" to North Korea's denuclearisation during his visit to Seoul, weeks after Pyongyang said it was "ready to mobilise" its nuclear deterrent.

Guterres arrived in Seoul on Thursday following a trip to Japan, where he gave a speech to mark the 77th anniversary of the world's first nuclear bomb attack in Hiroshima. He has also been to Mongolia.

"I would like to reaffirm our clear commitment to the full, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, of the DPRK," he said at his meeting with South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol, using North Korea's official name.

The goal is a "fundamental objective to bring peace, security and stability to the whole region", Guterres told Yoon, according to footage broadcast by local media.

Guterres's comments come as Washington and Seoul officials have repeatedly warned that the North is preparing to carry out what would be its seventh nuclear test.

On Thursday, Pyongyang blamed Seoul for a Covid-19 outbreak in the North and threatened to "wipe out" Seoul's authorities.

Pyongyang has conducted a record-breaking blitz of weapons tests so far this year, including firing an intercontinental ballistic missile at full range for the first time since 2017.

Last month, the North's leader Kim Jong Un said his country was "ready to mobilise" its nuclear deterrent in any future military conflict with the United States and Seoul.

Guterres delivered a stark warning against the horrors of atomic weapons in New York at a key nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty conference last week, which he reiterated in Japan on Monday.

"We are witnessing a radicalisation in the geopolitical situation that makes the risk of a nuclear war again something we cannot completely forget," he said at a press conference in Tokyo.

Related Links
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

In South Korea, Pelosi set to visit heavily fortified DMZ
Seoul (AFP) Aug 4, 2022
After her high-profile trip to Taiwan, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was in South Korea Thursday where her agenda included a visit to the border with the nuclear-armed North, an official told AFP. Pelosi, who arrived in Seoul late Wednesday, will visit the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), where the two neighbours' forces stand face to face, the South Korean official said. She would be the highest-ranking US official to visit the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom since then presi ... read more