Uganda backs diplomatic solution to Korea nuclear crisis

Foreign affairs minister Sam Kutesa. Photo by Maria Wamala

Uganda supports a diplomatic end to the tensions around the Korean Peninsula that have sparked fears of war pitting the North Korea with her neighbor, South Korea.

The former has relentlessly pursued a nuclear program and on Sunday announced it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, drawing condemnation from the international community.

Uganda's foreign affairs minister and former President of the UN General Assembly, Sam Kutesa condemned all forms of nuclear proliferation and called for a rational approach to the issue.

Responding to a question from South Korean's Ambassador to Uganda, Park Jong Dae about Uganda's position on the crisis, Kutesa insisted that only through talks.  

"We are concerned about the tightening of tension. We call upon the countries involved, especially North Korea, to deescalate the tension and for the parties to go back to talking," Kutesa stated.

"We believe that the solution will only be through diplomatic efforts. We believe that proliferation of nuclear weapons is a wrong thing, not only for the peninsula but also for the whole world," he said.

North Korea and South Korea signed an armistice in 1953 ending a brutal war. The two countrues have never signed a peace agreement and are thus, technically considered to be still at war.

Initially one country in East Asia, it was divided into two distinct sovereign states in 1945 and the two countries have pursued different ideologies.

Kutesa, who was head of the 69th UN General Assembly, said Uganda would remain an ardent player in peace and security efforts at regional and international levels.

He was speaking at the first Annual Foreign Minister's Address held at Hotel Africana on Tuesday. The address was organized by the Uganda Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank comprising of experts on diplomacy, students and scholars set up to advise on Uganda's foreign policy.