Pretoria – South Africa on Tuesday said it was deeply concerned by the heightened tensions in the Korean Peninsula, and called on all sides to refrain from any action or rhetoric that would aggravate the already tense situation.
“We believe that peaceful reconciliation of conflict situations is best addressed through inclusive political dialogue. We believe that in the long term, a political solution carries greater weight than a military solution,” International Relations and Cooperation Deputy Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim said.
South Africa’s call comes as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) asked foreigners living in South Korea to consider evacuation in case of war.
Tensions in the region have been fuelled by North Korea’s anger over the imposition of the UN sanctions after its last nuclear arms test in February.
The DPRK said it would restart operations at its Yongbyon nuclear complex, including a uranium enrichment plant and a five-megawatt graphite moderated reactor that had been "mothballed and disabled" since October 2007 under an agreement reached at the six-party talks.
The situation has created one of the worst periods of tensions on the peninsula since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
Ebrahim told the weekly media briefing that South Africa was a firm supporter of multilateralism and highly valued the central role of the UN and its agencies in the settlement of international and national disputes.
He reiterated Pretoria’s call for the resumption of the Six-Party Peace Talks and for the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.
“South Africa recognises the rights of all Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) member states to legitimately develop nuclear energy for peaceful civilian purposes. We believe that a nuclear arsenal does not confer greater security for any state,” Ebrahim stressed.
South Africa has in the past called on the DPRK to verifiably dismantle any nuclear weapons, to return to the NPT without delay, to place all their facilities under comprehensive International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verification, and to contribute through strengthened confidence-building measures to global nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation.
Ebrahim said South Africa would continue with normal operations in that country and officials were in contact with the Ambassador in DPRK “closely monitoring” the situation.
Should the need arise, Ebrahim said the department would provide consular services. – SAnews.gov.za
