Statement by Lassina Zerbo, Executive Secretary, CTBTO, on the Singapore summit
Vienna, 12 June 2018
I welcome the historic US-DPRK Summit in Singapore between President Trump and Chairman Kim. This positive and direct dialogue should be heralded as a truly significant step forward for international peace and stability.
I am hopeful that today’s summit will provide a basis for progress toward verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
If invited, the CTBTO PrepCom, within its mandate, will support any verification activities for the permanent closure of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site.
We are here to contribute when we can and where we should. Our expertise includes: site characterisation; site closure verification; post site closure and dismantlement verification; and ongoing remote monitoring.
Background
The CTBT bans all nuclear explosions. The Treaty will enter into force once signed and ratified by the remaining eight nuclear technology holder countries: China, Egypt, the DPRK, India, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, and the United States.
A verification regime is being built to monitor compliance with the Treaty. Nearly 90 percent of the 337 facilities of the International Monitoring System (IMS) are already in place. The system swiftly, reliably and precisely detected all six DPRK declared nuclear tests. After the DPRK announced nuclear test on 12 February 2013, the CTBTO was the only organization to detect radioactivity attributable to the event.
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Kirsten Gregorich Hansen,
Public Information Officer T +43 1 26030 6540
M +43 699 1459 6540
E kirsten.gregorich.hansen@ctbto.org