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2012-05-20 10:09

G-8 leaders warn of tougher actions against N. Korea



WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- Leaders of the world's eight advanced nations wrapped up their summit in the U.S. Saturday with a warning that North Korea will face stronger punishment in case of further provocations.

"We continue to have deep concerns about provocative actions of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) that threaten regional stability," they said in a statement on the results of a two-day summit at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland. The North's formal name was used in the diplomatic document titled "Camp David Declaration."

U.S. President Barack Obama hosted the annual meeting with his counterparts from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and Britain designed to address major global economic and political challenges.

The leaders condemned the North's long-range rocket launch in mid-April which ended in failure.

"We urge the DPRK to comply with its international obligations and abandon all nuclear and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner," read the statement.

The international community is keeping close tabs on the communist regime amid worries that it will take additional provocative actions such as missile and nuclear tests as well as attacks on South Korea.

"We affirm our will to call on the UN Security Council to take action, in response to additional DPRK acts, including ballistic missile launches and nuclear tests," the leaders said.

They also expressed concern about human rights violations in the North including political prisoner camps and handling of South Korean and Japanese people abducted by Pyongyang decades ago.

Earlier Saturday, meanwhile, Obama reiterated an overture coupled with a warning message.

"All of us agree that North Korea is violating its international obligations and that there is a path for them to rejoin the international community," he told reporters.

The G-8 leaders discussed North Korea, along with Iran, Syria and Burma, in their working dinner on Friday that focused on global security issues, according to White House officials.

In the second-day session, Europe's financial crisis was mainly discussed, they added.

"The global economic recovery shows signs of promise, but significant headwinds persist," the Camp David Declaration read.

The G-8 nations agreed to "take all necessary steps to strengthen and reinvigorate our economies and combat financial stresses," affirming their shared interest in dealing with financial crises in Greece and several other European nations, according to the statement.

Afghanistan will be a top agenda item in a NATO summit to be held in Chicago on Sunday and Monday, Obama's security aides said.




관련 한글 기사


G8 정상 "北도발 깊은 우려..필요시 조치" 성명

(워싱턴=연합뉴스) 강의영 특파원 = 주요 8개국(G8) 정상들은 19일(현지시간) 북한의 '도발적인 행동'에 깊은 우려를 표시하면서 최근 장거리 미사일 시험 발사를 비난하고 필요하면 조치를 취하겠다고 밝혔다.

이들 정상은 18~19일 이틀간 미국 워싱턴D.C. 인근 대통령 별장인 메릴랜드주 캠프 데이비드에서 정상회의를 가진 뒤 공동성명을 내고 이같이 발표했다.

이들은 공동성명에서 "북한이 국제적인 의무사항을 준수하고 모든 핵 및 탄도 미사일 프로그램을 완전하고 증명 가능하게, 그리고 다시 되돌릴 수 없는 방법으로 포기할 것을 주장한다"고 말했다.

이어 "탄도 미사일 발사나 핵 실험 등 북한이 추가 행동을 하면 (관련 결의안 등을 통해) 이에 대응하는 조치를 취하기 위해 유엔 안전보장이사회를 소집하겠다는 의지를 재확인한다"고 밝혔다.

G8 정상들은 또 납치와 정치범 상황을 포함한 북한의 인권 침해에 대해서도 우려를 나타냈다.

버락 오바마 미국 대통령이 주재한 회의에는 영국, 캐나다, 프랑스, 이탈리아, 일본, 러시아 정상이 참석했다.

앞서 오바마 대통령은 이날 오전 이틀째 정상회의에 들어가기 전 기자회견을 하고 "우리는 (전날 만찬에서) 북한의 상황에 관해 논의할 기회가 있었다. 정상들은 모두 북한이 국제적인 의무를 위반하고 있다는데 동의했다"고 밝혔다.

그는 이어 "북한은 국제 공동체에 다시 동참할 길이 있지만, 지난 몇달간 보여준 것처럼 도발적인 행동을 계속한다면 그 길은 열리지 않을 것이며 목적 또한 달성할 수 없을 것"이라고 덧붙였다.


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