China, Russia and India ‘declared nuclear deterrence’, North Korea ‘abolished’ exchanges with South Korea through ‘diplomacy’
China, Russia and India jointly declared the international system as a “nuclear deterrence regime,” and North Korea switched to “diplomacy” with South Korea, abolishing inter-Korean exchanges.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) said in the 'New Delhi Joint Declaration' on the 4th, "We are in favor of strengthening the global nuclear non-proliferation regime." and the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
In New Delhi, India, the leaders of the 8 countries of the SCO and Iran signed a joint declaration from the 9 countries stating that “continued implementation of the Iran nuclear agreement (JCPOA) is important and that all participating countries will fully comply with their obligations.” They urged a joint response to withdrawal.
Indian Prime Minister Modi held a US summit on a visit to the US 10 days ago and presided over a conference with the leaders of China, Russia and Iran that day, and did not mention the “war in Ukraine” in his opening remarks.
Yomiuri reported on the 5th that Prime Minister Modi expressed his will to expand the SCO in Asia, saying, "The SCO is a forum for peace, prosperity and development in the Asian region."
Regarding the joint declaration, Voice of America (VOA) said, “Member states strictly abide by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and support strengthening the global nuclear non-proliferation regime. We reaffirm the SCO's commitment to non-interventionism."
The SCO leaders then reaffirmed security cooperation to combat terrorism, and in a separate joint statement, the word “terror” appeared 15 times and stated “opposition to terrorism and radical ideologies that lead to separatism and extremism.”
The SCO was launched in 2001 and consists of eight countries: China, Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Iran joined this year and Belarus became an observer participant.
When India and Pakistan joined in 2017, the SOC went beyond countering terrorism and extremism and cooperation through economy and energy to conducting joint military exercises among member countries.
The latest SCO New Delhi Joint Declaration explicitly states “opposition to militarization of information” and reinforcement of “non-interventionism in internal affairs,” showing a link between North Korea’s attempts at “negotiations on nuclear reduction” and “severance of inter-Korean exchanges” in the Asian security system.
Moon Seung-hyeon, the new Vice Minister of Unification, said on the 3rd about the direction of unification policy, "We will create conditions for North Korea's denuclearization and substantially improve the human rights of North Koreans, while providing more support for North Korean defectors to settle in our society stably." In his inaugural address, he said, "I will focus on North Korean human rights intervention" and "North Korean defector support system."
Unification Minister Kwon Young-se said in a welcome speech at an international forum on the 5th, "If North Korea's denuclearization is the basic foundation for security and peace on the Korean Peninsula, then the improvement of human rights in North Korea is the first step toward a free and happy Korean Peninsula." We will start by publicizing the reality of human rights in North Korea, and we will devise various measures so that the North Korean authorities can change with the right attitude toward human rights issues.”