The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) on Wednesday condemns the latest nuclear bomb test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), calling the test "provocative and dangerous behaviour."
"Australia condemns in the strongest possible terms the provocative and dangerous behaviour of the North Korean regime, which claims to have detonated a nuclear bomb today," said DFAT press release. This will be the fourth time that DPRK has conducted a nuclear bomb test, in direct violation of unanimous United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1718 (2006), 1874 (2009), 2087 (2013) and 2094 (2013), which ban further nuclear tests by the country, it said.
DFAT said DPRK's actions "fly in the face of international non- proliferation norms, and challenge the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty." It said that the northeastern Asian country's ongoing development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, and its proliferation of sensitive technologies, "threaten the peace and security of Australia's friends and partners in our region and beyond."
Today's nuclear test confirms DPRK's status as a "rogue state" and a continuing threat to international peace and security, the DFAT announcement said. It said that Australia will intensify its counter-proliferation cooperation with partners to strengthen sanctions, aiming to reduce the funding of DPRK's Weapon of Mass Destruction programs.
Australia also calls on international bodies, including the UN Security Council, to provide a strong response to DPRK's actions. "Australia will continue to work with our friends and partners to support the security of the Republic of Korea and the stability of our region," DFAT said.
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