North Korea’s assumption of the presidency of the world’s only multilateral negotiating forum on disarmament prompted verbal protests on Thursday by mostly Western nations, but not the boycott or walkout that some non-governmental critics had called for.
North Korean ambassador Han Tae-Song took the helm of the 65-nation Conference on Disarmament (CD), a U.N.-linked body that holds three sessions a year in Geneva, in line with longstanding practice that rotates the chair through the membership in alphabetical order.
Han’s three-week presidency comes at a time when the regime he represents continues to violate numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions by launching ballistic missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The U.S. and other governments also assess that it is preparing to carry out a nuclear test, for the first time in five years.
