Protest letter against the DPRK nuclear test (October 10, 2006)

October 10, 2006

His Excellency Kim Jong-Il
Chairman of the DPRK National Defense Commission
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

Letter of Protest

Though the city of Hiroshima, our A-bomb survivor organizations, and many cities and organizations around the world asked you to refrain, you selfishly proceeded with your nuclear test. I am outraged and, on behalf of the A-bombed city Hiroshima, I vehemently protest.

The fact that you conducted this test even as the international community was working so hard to find peaceful resolutions to your problems is intolerable. We gravely fear that your action will stimulate the expansion and proliferation of nuclear arms, creating an irreversible threat to world peace and stability.

I urge you to listen conscientiously to the survivor message that “nuclear weapons are an absolute evil that can potentially extinguish the human species,” and immediately abandon all your nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons programs. I further urge you to engage constructively in the six-party talks on the nuclear issue, return to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), develop diplomatic efforts that do not rely on nuclear deterrence, and fulfill your legal obligation to negotiate in good faith toward global nuclear disarmament.

Tadatoshi Akiba
Mayor
The City of Hiroshima