SEOUL: South Korean Unification Minister Hyun In-Taek warned Thursday of a global "nuclear domino effect" unless North Korea scraps its atomic weapons.
He was speaking days before senior US officials travel to South Korea, Japan and China for talks on the issue.
"North Korea`s possession of nuclear weapons will further consolidate the confrontational structure on the Korean peninsula," Hyun told a forum on the future of the peninsula.
He said the North`s nuclear armament would introduce "major changes" in the region`s security environment as well as the international order.
"It will produce nuclear domino effects across the globe," Hyun said.
The North bolted six-party nuclear disarmament negotiations in April last year, following a United Nations reprimand over a long-range rocket test. It staged an atomic weapons test -- its second -- a month later.
China, which hosts the six-party forum, is pushing to revive the dialogue.
The US envoy for North Korea, Stephen Bosworth; Sung Kim, the US special envoy for the six-party talks; and Daniel Russell, the National Security Council`s Asia director, will make the three-country trip.
They will visit Seoul on September 12-14, Tokyo on September 14-15 and Beijing on September 15-16 as part of a flurry of recent consultations on the nuclear issue.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday the United States was watching for any leadership changes in North Korea but hoped that whoever is in power in Pyongyang will scrap nuclear weapons.
North Korea has reportedly finished preparing for a landmark meeting of its ruling communist party, and there is speculation the conference will confirm the youngest son of leader Kim Jong-Il as his eventual successor.
Hyun said the North`s nuclear ambitions had "aggravated regime instability" and the impoverished country`s economic woes. "Its nuclear programme is only pushing the North closer to a crisis," the South Korean minister said.
He urged Pyongyang to take action towards nuclear disarmament which would put the two Koreas "on a starting line for creation of a new peace structure" on the peninsula.
"One thing that is clear is that North Korea must untie the Gordian Knot by itself," the minister said.
"North Korea, in the immediate future, must show the international community its sincere commitment to denuclearisation as well as a specific action plan."
BDST: 1132 HRS, SEP 09, 2010
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