NORTH KOREA MISSILES WORRY ZAMBIA

Thu, 21 Sep 2017 13:28:47 +0000

By Oscar Malipenga

GOVERNMENT has expressed concern over the continued firing of ballistic missiles and nuclear tests by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) despite international outcry to cease such activities, Foreign Affairs Minister Harry Kalaba has said.

Mr Kalaba said as a member of the United Nations and a party to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Zambia supported calls from the international community for nuclear disarmament.

“And subsequently urges the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea not to engage in provocative acts but to participate in the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula,” Mr Kalaba said.

According to a statement issued by Foreign Affairs spokesperson Dorcas Chileshe, Mr Kalaba has since called on the DPRK to abandon its nuclear programmes and comply with the respective resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.

Meanwhile, Ms Chileshe clarified that the Zambian embassy in China had submitted a report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that it has not received a report of alleged assault of a Zambian student in that county.

Ms Chileshe said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had received several inquiries from some Zambians over the validity of an online media story and video suggesting that a Zambian student was battling for his life in a hospital in Beijing after a brutal assault by unidentified Chinese men.

Ms Chileshe said Zambia’s ambassador to China Ms Winnie Chibesakunda howeve said that they were monitoring the situation and checking on all students across China.

“So far none of the students has been reported to have been attacked as alleged in the online story. Should any credible information arise to the contrary, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will update the nation accordingly,” said Ms Chileshe.