Nazarbayev: Whole world seriously concerned about Korean peninsula situation
According to the Kazakh leader, world superpowers cannot reach consensus in terms of ballistic missile defense and cuts to nuclear arsenals amid the North Korean problem.
President Nazarbayev reminded that Kazakhstan was the first country in the world to abandon its nuclear potential voluntarily and make all-out efforts in anti-nuclear movement. As a reminder, the Kazakh President outlined his personal vision on nuclear non-proliferation in his article Manifesto "The World. The 21st century" that was announced on the eve of the UN General Assembly session last year.
Nursultan Nazarbayev went on to add that military conflicts in the Middle East and Africa were still underway. In his words, the situation in Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine and Nagorny Karabakh is also in limbo.
"Increase in global tensions drives global arms demand. Military spending surged last year and totaled $1.7 trillion or 2.2% of global GDP. The U.S. increased its military spending up to $611 billion, China - up to $215 billion, Russian - up to $69 billion and India - up to $56 billion," the Head of State stressed, adding that military spending boost threatens global security and distracts the nations from their real needs.