§ 14. Mr. BellinghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Britain's relations with South Korea.
§ Mr. GoodladOur relations are excellent. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary paid a successful visit to the Republic of Korea last week. He had full and useful exchanges with—among others—the President, the Foreign Minister and the Defence Minister. As well as bilateral matters, their discussions covered regional and international issues, including North Korea, market access, trade, technology co-operation, investment and the European Community. This was a very good opportunity to establish contact with the new South Korean Administration. My right hon. Friend also met and had useful discussions with representatives of the British business community.
§ Mr. BellinghamI am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that extremely informative reply. Does he share South Korea's grave concern about North Korea's threatened withdrawal from the non-proliferation treaty? Does he agree that that poses the threat of destabilisation throughout the region and that there is an urgent need for the International Atomic Energy Agency to move in and 823 carry out an inspection? Will he seek the support of the Government of the People's Republic of China in putting pressure on North Korea?
§ Mr. GoodladYes. North Korea's announcement of its intention to withdraw from the non-proliferation treaty is a cause for great concern and its refusal to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency's special inspections gives further cause to question the intentions of the North Korean Government. The United Kingdom is determined to maintain and strengthen the non-proliferation treaty. We urge North Korea to reconsider its position and we intend to explore all possible avenues with our Security Council colleagues to persuade North Korea to change its mind.
My hon. Friend is quite right that China has a vital role to play in attempts to persuade the North Koreans to reverse their position and we look to the Chinese to exercise that responsibility. We also attach the greatest importance to full co-operation among all states on the Security Council, especially the permanent five.