(RIA Novosti)- The UN Security Council has adopted a statement calling on North Korea to drop plans to test nuclear weapons and return to negotiations, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported from New York Friday.
Pyongyang aroused serious concerns worldwide Wednesday claiming it may soon resume nuclear tests.
The Security Council said in its statement that the plans announced by Pyongyang pose a threat to peace and stability in the region and world at large and run counter to international agreements.
Security Council Chairman Kenzo Oshima highlighted the role of North Korea's neighbors, China and Russia, in efforts to reach a consensus on the document.
In early July, North Korea conducted test launches of ballistic missiles, including of a long-range Taepodong-2. Even though the tests were a failure, many countries interpreted them as an attempt to force the international community, especially the United States, to make concessions over the six-nation nuclear talks, involving North and South Korea, Russia, China, Japan and the U.S.
North Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003 and in February 2005 announced it had nuclear weapons. Some experts, however, have questioned that claim.
The six-nation talks, aimed at persuading North Korea to give up its controversial nuclear program, opened in 2003, but stalled last November. Mediators proposed building a nuclear reactor for North Korea if it abandoned its nuclear program, but Pyongyang said it wants the reactor first and will then give up its nuclear research.
At the latest round of talks in September, North Korea agreed to abandon its nuclear program in exchange for aid and security guarantees, but later refused to return to the negotiating table until Washington lifts financial sanctions imposed on Pyongyang for its alleged involvement in counterfeiting and other illegal activities.