Pope warns of risk of US-North Korea nuclear war
Pope Francis said nuclear war between the US and North Korea could break out suddenly and proposed banning nuclear weapons.
|
Pope Francis speaks to 185 ambassadors at the Vatican. Photo:AP. |
Speaking to 185 ambassadors at the Vatican, Pope Francis said on January 8 that a nuclear war could happen "accidentally and under unpredictable circumstances," according toReuters.
"It is important to support every effort for negotiations on the Korean peninsula in order to find a new way to overcome the current dispute, improve mutual trust, and ensure a peaceful future for the Korean people and the whole world," the Pope said in his annual New Year's address.
"Nuclear weapons must be banned," the Pope said, citing a document issued by Pope John XXIII at the height of the Cold War. He noted that the Vatican was among 122 countries that last year agreed to a UN treaty banning nuclear weapons and called for a "sincere, wide-ranging discussion" on disarmament.
Earlier this month, after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un claimed he had a nuclear button on his desk, US President Donald Trump tweeted that his nuclear button is bigger and more powerful. North Korea yesterday declared that all of its weapons, including atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs, and ballistic missiles, are aimed at the US, not South Korea, Russia, or China.