Scholars, legislators and former diplomats from Northeast Asia met in Beijing today to consider how to work toward ridding the world of nuclear weapons, Kyodo News reported (see GSN, Feb. 27).
Specialists at the two-day conference were expected to submit their opinions for an upcoming report by the International Commission on Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament.
The conference is aimed at gathering "the views of the people who live in this region," said former Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, who co-chairs the commission with former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans.
The meeting was likely to address the uncertain status of a six-nation agreement aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear program, she said (see related GSN story, today).
"That is a theme we cannot avoid when talking about the denuclearization efforts of this region," Kawaguchi said. "It is a central theme" (Kyodo News/Breitbart.com, May 22).