Accord adopted with nuke powers vowing disarmament
NEW YORK, May 21 Kyodo - The signatory nations to the global treaty controlling the spread of nuclear weapons on Saturday unanimously adopted a final document in which the five declared nuclear powers pledged an ''unequivocal undertaking'' to eliminate their nuclear arsenals.
The 187 nations that have signed the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) adopted the document at the conference to review the treaty after reaching a compromise on the document's language by softening criticism against Iraq through all-night negotiations.
The dispute between the United States and Iraq over the wording of Iraq's nuclear compliance had threatened to block agreement on a new nuclear arms agenda.
The deadlock forced the four-week meeting to continue into Saturday instead of ending late Friday as planned, despite breakthrough agreements earlier by the five nuclear powers for an ''unequivocal undertaking'' to eliminate their nuclear arsenals.
On May 1, the world's five major nuclear-weapon states -- the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France -- declared their ''unequivocal'' commitment to the goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons.
The delegates to the conference agreed to achieve the early entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) as among practical steps for implementation of the NPT.
The 1996 CTBT has yet to come into effect because not all countries that are required to ratify it have done so.
The treaty stipulates that all 44 declared and potential nuclear states must ratify it for it to come into force, but only 28 of them have so far completed the ratification process.
Among the 44 nations, China, Russia and the U.S. have yet to ratify the treaty although they have signed it, while three nations -- India, Pakistan and North Korea -- have not even signed it.
The document calls for the immediate commencement of negotiations on a ''non-discriminatory, multilateral and internationally and effectively verifiable treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices'' with a view to their conclusion within five years.
As for the 1972 antiballistic missile (ABM) treaty, which the U.S. intends to amend because of its plan to build a national missile defense system, the document says they agreed to preserve and strengthen the ABM treaty as a cornerstone of strategic stability.
The ABM treaty bans the deployment of national missile defense systems.
The document ''deplores'' the tit-for-tat nuclear test explosions carried out by India and Pakistan in 1998.
Underlining their special status as nuclear-weapon states accorded them by the NPT regime, the five nuclear powers say that India and Pakistan are not entitled to membership in the exclusive nuclear power club notwithstanding their nuclear tests.
Neither India or Pakistan has joined the NPT.
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan welcomed the document as a historic agreement.
The monthlong NPT review conference was aimed at giving a boost to the world's nonproliferation framework since the treaty was extended indefinitely in 1995.
During the conference, the ''New Agenda Coalition,'' an influential group of moderate states pushing for nuclear disarmament, contributed to obtaining concessions from the five nuclear powers.
The group, which includes Sweden, Mexico,
New Zealand and South Africa, criticized
the nuclear powers for moving too slowly
in eliminating their nuclear arsenals.
==Kyodo
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