Leading members of the International Atomic Energy Agency have
criticized North Korea's recent nuclear test and urged Pyongyang to
return to disarmament talks.
Diplomats attending an IAEA board meeting in Vienna Wednesday say North
Korea's May 25th nuclear test drew criticism from the United States,
the European Union, China, Japan and Canada.
U.S. delegate Geoffrey Pyatt said Washington will not accept North
Korea as a nuclear weapon state. He called on Pyongyang to return to
six-nation talks aimed at giving the impoverished nation fuel and other
benefits in return for dismantling its nuclear weapons program.
The leaders of Russia and China issued a separate joint statement
Wednesday expressing "serious concern about the situation on the Korean
peninsula."
At a meeting in Moscow, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and his
Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao called for the "swiftest possible
resumption" of the six-party nuclear talks, which broke down earlier
this year.
The two leaders' statement did not contain any new initiatives for
reviving negotiations. The six nations involved in the talks are
Russia, China, the United States, Japan, South Korea and North Korea.
U.S. President Barack Obama said Tuesday a nuclear-armed North Korea
would be a "grave threat" to the world. He discussed the issue with
visiting South Korean President Lee Myung-bak at the White House.
Mr. Obama promised to strictly enforce tougher sanctions on Pyongyang
adopted by the U.N. Security Council. The council approved the
sanctions in response to North Korea's latest nuclear test and
test-firing of several missiles.
Japanese and South Korean media say Pyongyang appears to be preparing two sites for more long-range missile tests.
North Korea has lashed out at international criticism of its nuclear
and missile tests by threatening to intensify its weapons programs.