OTTAWA (AFP) - Ottawa deplored North Korea’s announcement that it will withdraw from disarmament talks and called on Pyongyang to reconsider its decision to bar international inspections of its nuclear facilities.
 
“Canada is deeply concerned at North Korea?s announcement that it will abandon the six-party talks, expel International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors and restart its nuclear weapons program,” Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said in a statement.

“Canada calls upon North Korea to immediately resume cooperation with IAEA inspectors and to continue existing disablement activities without interruption,” he said.

The six party talks involve the United States, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea.

North Korea said Tuesday it would withdraw from the talks on de-nuclearization and resume its nuclear weapons program the day after the UN Security Council issued a statement condemning its launch of a long-range missile.

Several hours later, North Korean authorities also announced the immediate cessation of all cooperation with the IAEA. The agency said its inspectors have been asked to leave North Korea as soon as possible.

Calling on Pyongyang to abide by the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Cannon said it was “disconcerting that a regime that has difficulty feeding its own people should invest so much in these programs.”

Courtesy of: http://ca.news.yahoo.com