North Korean Nuclear Missiles and Non-Proliferation

That the Parliament believes the test firing of a nuclear weapon by the North Korean Government represents a severe blow to the world’s nuclear non-proliferation programme; notes that this test now takes the number of countries with nuclear weapons to nine: Russia with 16,000 weapons, the United States of America with 10,300 weapons, China with 410 weapons, France with 350 weapons, the United Kingdom with 200 weapons, India with 100 weapons, Israel with 100 weapons, Pakistan with 100 weapons and North Korea with 13 weapons; also notes that this test could accelerate similar test programmes underway in Iran, Japan, Brazil and South Korea; believes that the recent sabre-rattling by George Bush against North Korea and the presence of 37,000 US troops amassed on its border stoked fears in Pyongyang of another US invasion and, therefore, inexorably propelled their weapons testing programme; calls for greater understanding of North Korea and greater engagement with this enigmatic regime and the pressing needs of its people, and calls for the UK Government to press the case for all nine countries with nuclear weapons to sign up to, and honour, the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty.