India, South Korea discuss disarmament, non-proliferation of WMDs

New Delhi, March 31

India and South Korean delegates held discussions here on Thursday over disarmament and non-proliferation relating to nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said that India-Republic of Korea consultations on disarmament and non-proliferation were held at New Delhi, with the two sides exchanging views on developments in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation relating to nuclear, chemical and biological domains, outer space matters, regional non-proliferation issues, conventional weapons and export control regimes.

The Indian delegation was led by Sandeep Arya, Additional Secretary (Disarmament and International Security Affairs), Ministry of External Affairs, while the Korea delegation was led by Younghyo Park, Director General for Non-proliferation and Nuclear Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The MEA said that India engages in relevant multilateral forums and with partner countries on disarmament, non-proliferation and international security affairs.

India's engagement is based on its longstanding commitment to the goals of universal and non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament and the objectives of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems.

India believes that this goal can be achieved through a step-by-step process underwritten by a universal commitment and an agreed global and non-discriminatory multilateral framework, as outlined in India's Working Paper on Nuclear Disarmament submitted to the UN General Assembly in 2006.

With the objective of strengthening the non-proliferation architecture, India has also joined various export control regimes, namely Australia Group, Wassenaar Arrangement, Missile Technology Control Regime and has harmonised its controls with the Nuclear Suppliers Group lists.