The Group of Seven nations has called on North Korea to refrain from destabilizing or provocative actions, including further nuclear tests or launches that use ballistic missile technology.
 
In a statement issued Friday dubbed the G7 Leaders’ Hiroshima Vision on Nuclear Disarmament, the group said a world without nuclear weapons cannot be achieved without nuclear non-proliferation.
 
The statement reiterated the unwavering commitment to the goal of North Korea’s complete, verifiable, and irreversible abandonment of its nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs, and any other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs in accordance with relevant UN Security Council Resolutions.
 
It went on to say that North Korea cannot and will never have the status of a nuclear-weapon state under the Non-Proliferation Treaty and it's critical that sanctions be fully and scrupulously implemented by all states and remain in place for as long as Pyongyang's WMD and ballistic missile programs exist.
 
It is the first time an exclusive statement on nuclear disarmament has been announced at the G7 summit.
 
The leaders said that as they meet in Hiroshima, where the1945 atomic bombing caused unprecedented devastation and immense human suffering, they reaffirm the commitment to achieving a world without nuclear weapons with undiminished security for all.
 
Underscoring the importance of the 77-year record of non-use of nuclear weapons, the statement said Russia’s irresponsible nuclear rhetoric, which undermines arms control regimes, is dangerous and unacceptable.
 
The G7 leaders also expressed deep concern over Iran’s unabated escalation of its nuclear program.
 
The vision statement also emphasized the importance of transparency with regard to nuclear weapons, and called on nuclear-weapon states that have not yet done so to take responsible transparency measures by providing data on their nuclear forces and the objective size of their nuclear arsenals.