Physicians call for urgent negotiations to resolve Korean nuclear crisis

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IPPNW released the following statement on September 5 from the 22nd World Congress at York University, after consultations among members of the Executive Committee, key affiliate leaders who have visited the DPRK, and members of Korean Anti-War Peace Physicians, the DPRK affiliate.

Physicians from more than 30 countries, gathered in York for the World Congress of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, the recipient of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize, issued the following appeal:

There is no military solution to the nuclear confrontation between the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Any military action will lead to massive civilian casualties. If nuclear weapons are used the casualties could be in the tens of millions with widespread radioactive contamination and the possibility of global climate disruption.

We urgently call on the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to enter into direct negotiations without preconditions to resolve this dangerous crisis.

The critical situation in Korea underlines the importance of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons which was adopted at the United Nations on July 7 and which will be open for signature there on September 20. The nuclear armed states can no longer hold the peoples of the world hostage to the terrible destructive power of their nuclear arsenals. The national security of all nations demands that they accept the prohibition on nuclear weapons embodied in this treaty and enter into negotiations for a verifiable, enforceable time bound agreement to eliminate their nuclear weapons.