G8 chiefs boost pressure on N Korea, Iran
Protesters serenade riot police during a demonstration against the G20 summit in downtown Toronto yesterday. Activists, labour groups and other protesters demanding Group of 20 (G20) countries do more to fight poverty marched through downtown streets but were blocked by police as they neared the security zone authorities have established around the venue for the summit on Saturday and Sunday. Photo: Reuters
The Group of Eight rich nations yesterday deplored what it said was North Korea's sinking of a South Korean warship and urged Pyongyang and Tehran to halt atomic sabre-rattling, which has set the world on edge.
The G8 closed its annual summit with a strongly worded statement accusing Pyongyang of stoking dangerous tensions that could spread far beyond northeast Asia.
"Such an incident is a challenge to peace and security in the region and beyond," the G8 final communiqué said at the end of a two-day meeting in Huntsville, Ontario, north of Toronto.
The group, which includes the United States, Japan, and Russia, called for "appropriate measures" to be taken against the perpetrators of the March 26 attack which killed 46 South Korean sailors.
They also pressed Israel and the Palestinians to work for direct peace talks, and said conditions in Gaza under an Israeli blockade were "not sustainable and must be changed."
A senior US official said the strong statement G8 statement on North Korea would add to pressure over the Cheonan incident, which he said was an "egregious" violation of international norms.
South Korea is pressing for a UN resolution condemning North Korea for the attack, but Pyongyang's main backer, China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the Security Council, has not yet indicated it is ready to support such a move.
The G8 flagged mounting worries over North Korea's nuclear program, asking all nations to enforce existing UN sanctions against Pyongyang and expressing "gravest concern about the nuclear test and missile activities" carried out by the North Korean government.
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