North Korea does not sign the Treaty to ban chemical weapons

Tensions between the DPRK and the West continue to increase as Pyongyang refuses to participate in an international agreement banning the use of chemical weapons. Among the countries that did not sign the agreement, four Middle Eastern countries were Egypt, Israel, Lebanon and Syria.

Rogelio Pfirter, director of the Organization for the Dissemination of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), said Pyongyang did not respond to the offer to join the treaty, while the four Middle Eastern countries refused for reasons of regional instability. There are currently 180 countries signed through the Agreement on the prohibition of the use of chemical weapons, effective in 1997.

Russia currently owns the largest amount of chemical weapons: 40,000 tons, followed by the US with 27,000 tons. Other countries that claim to have chemical weapons are India, Libya and Albania.

* On October 21, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Russia discussing the settlement of the Korean peninsula nuclear crisis. Earlier, in Beijing, Rice expressed doubt of pledging not to continue Pyongyang's nuclear test.

A gas bomb produced by the US (Photo: Wiki)

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