Secretary-General welcomes deal on non-nuclear Korean peninsula

United Nations, Feb 14 (UNI) UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the nuclear agreement reached at the six-party talks in Beijing, describing it as the first step towards a non-nuclear Korean Peninsula and urging all sides to ''sustain the current positive momentum''.

''The secretary-general is encouraged that this constructive effort by the international community can eventually result in strengthening the global non-proliferation regime, as well as in contributing to durable peace, security and prosperity in the region'', Marie Okabe, spokesperson for Mr Ban said, referring to the deal aimed at implementing the 2005 Joint Statement on denuclearising the peninsula.

''This agreement represents the first practical stage towards a non-nuclear Peninsula,'' the spokesperson added.

''The secretary-general also welcomes the commitment by all participants to move expeditiously towards the next stage of this process''.

Towards that end, the planned establishment of five working groups ''should allow the participants to address the wide ranges of issues relating to the region in a comprehensive way.'' The statement urged the participants to 'make every effort to sustain the current positive momentum and ensure that this accord is implemented as agreed.' The six-party talks involve North Korea, China, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United States and have been going on sporadically in Beijing for several years, but have so far failed to end nuclear weapons on the peninsula.

North Korea carried out its first nuclear test in October, after which the Security Council imposed sanctions on the country.

UNI