Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 142: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position regarding his response to recent actions by North Korea which have raised concerns worldwide; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16003/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I strongly condemn the recent launch of an experimental communications satellite conducted by North Korea in breach of UN Security Council Resolution 1718. This was a provocative act, undertaken in defiance of warnings from the international community, including those made by our then Ambassador to North Korea during a visit to the country in February.

I am also deeply concerned by the subsequent decision of North Korea to expel International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors from the country and recommence activity at its nuclear facilities. These actions place additional strains on regional stability at a time when the unresolved nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula requires mutual confidence building. Such actions are also a matter of more general concern due to their global proliferation implications.

I urge North Korea to comply with the UNSC Resolution 1718 and to immediately suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile programme as well as abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programmes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner. I also fully endorse the call on the North Korean government made by the EU to reverse its decision to expel IAEA inspectors as well as the decision to restore the nuclear facilities which have been disabled, to maintain its cooperation with the IAEA, to allow an early resumption of the Six-Party Talks, as demanded by the UN Security Council's Presidential Statement, and to take such steps as will facilitate lasting stability and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.

Apart from the issue of its nuclear armaments programme, many other issues in relation to North Korea remain of concern. While the North Korean regime continues to invest precious resources in its nuclear and military programmes, the country is suffering chronic food insecurity and high malnutrition rates, and remains reliant on external food assistance to meet the needs of its population. Equally, the human rights situation is deeply troubling, reflective of one of the most repressive regimes in the world. Other issues of concern include the regime's complicity in trans-national crime, such as trafficking in people, especially women.