Okada, Westerwelle urge int'l cooperation to wipe out nuke arms

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NEW YORK, Sept. 5 Kyodo -
The Japanese and German foreign ministers urged the global community in an
article they contributed to the Wall Street Journal on Saturday to step up
cooperation to strip the world of nuclear weapons.
Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and his German counterpart Guido
Westerwelle issued the appeal in the article titled, ''The Moral Challenge of a
Nuclear-Free World.''
The appeal came shortly before the U.N. General Assembly is convened in New
York on Sept. 15 and three months after the end of the month-long Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference held in May in the city.
''We should never forget how human beings and buildings vanished in the
tremendous flash of light and heat in Hiroshima and Nagasaki 65 years ago,''
the two said in the article.
While hailing the fact that all delegates to the NPT review conference agreed
on action plans for nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and the peaceful use
of nuclear energy, the two foreign ministers called the agreement ''extremely
fragile,'' saying states will not honor it unless an intensive concerted effort
is made.
''Even if nuclear states cannot immediately agree to abandon their nuclear
weapons, they can take practical measures to reduce clear and present risks,''
they said.
The two also called on North Korea and Iran to ''understand that acquiring
nuclear weapons in contradiction of their nonproliferation obligations would
never be tolerated.''
Okada is to leave Japan for Germany on Monday. He will hold talks with
Westerwelle, German President Christian Wulff and other leaders before
returning to Japan on Wednesday.
==Kyodo
2010-09-05 21:16:26