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N. Korea has ‘1000s of tons of chemical weapons’ scattered across country – Seoul | N. Korea has ‘1000s of tons of chemical weapons’ scattered across country – Seoul |
(35 minutes later) | |
South Korea's foreign minister, Yun Byung-se, has warned that the North has "thousands of tons of chemical weapons" across the country and called to suspend Pyongyang from the UN. | |
Yun Byung-se has called for invoking a chemical weapons convention in light of the assassination that killed the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Malaysia. | |
"North Korea is reported to have not just grams but thousands of tonnes of chemical weapons including VX all over the country...the recent assassination is a wake-up call to all of us to North Korea's chemical weapons capability and its intent to actually use them," the minister said as quoted by Reuters. | |
He also warned that within North Korea's stockpile is VX, the nerve agent which is believed to have killed Kim's half-brother Kim Jong-nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport earlier this month. | He also warned that within North Korea's stockpile is VX, the nerve agent which is believed to have killed Kim's half-brother Kim Jong-nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport earlier this month. |
The statement made at a UN disarmament conference in Geneva comes after Seoul signed a land swap deal with retail giant Lotte, which will allow South Korea to host the controversial US THAAD missile system. Both Seoul and Washington say the system is a defensive measure against Pyongyang. | |
Yun Byung-se went on to call for the consideration of extraordinary measures which "could take the form of suspension of North Korea's rights and privileges as a UN member." | |
READ MORE: Kim Jong-nam murder suspect says she was ‘paid $90' for deadly 'prank’ | READ MORE: Kim Jong-nam murder suspect says she was ‘paid $90' for deadly 'prank’ |
"North Korea's fast-growing weapons of mass destruction and missile capabilities including chemical weapons has become gravest threat to international peace and security," he said. | |
South Korea has accused Kim Jong-un of ordering the death of his half-brother, though Pyongyang has denied any involvement. |