Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

This morning I convened a meeting of the National Security Committee of Cabinet, and the committee was briefed by our intelligence agency heads and Defence chiefs. As honourable members will be aware, the North Korean regime has boasted of a sixth nuclear test, with a seismic event of a 6.1 magnitude on the Richter scale, detected underground yesterday at a North Korean nuclear test site. This is considerably larger than any previous nuclear tests. The North Korean regime claims it is a hydrogen bomb. It is certainly consistent with a thermonuclear weapon of that type, but it is not yet established whether it was in fact a hydrogen bomb.

Nonetheless, this is yet another reckless and dangerous step in the conduct of this rogue regime in North Korea. Only last week North Korea fired a missile which travelled over northern Japan and landed about 800 kilometres to the east in the Pacific Ocean. I spoke shortly afterwards with the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, and offered him our strongest solidarity. We agreed that we would at the soonest opportunity be meeting again with our partner in the trilateral security dialogue, the United States. We condemned that action by the North Korean regime as we condemn today this shocking test.

This is the most dangerous moment in time on the Korean Peninsula since the end of the Korean War. Much is at stake. The reckless and illegal conduct of this regime cannot be rewarded. We have to ensure that the global community continues to impose stronger and stronger sanctions on North Korea.

The nation with the greatest leverage over North Korea is China. I want to be very clear to honourable members: China finds North Korea's conduct frustrating and dismaying. China has condemned it strongly and has stated unequivocally that it will implement the latest range of Security Council sanctions—for which, of course, China voted as a permanent member of the Security Council. So it's important to understand North Korea is not an obedient client state of China like East Germany was to the former Soviet Union. Nonetheless, China has the greatest leverage and hence the greatest responsibility. And so we call on China to use that economic leverage to bring this rogue regime to its senses.

I want to acknowledge the presence in the gallery of the ambassador for Japan, Ambassador Kusaka. I say to the ambassador, as I said to his Prime Minister, that we stand in solidarity with the people of Japan and the people of South Korea, with the whole global community in standing up to this rogue regime and demanding that it come to its senses. The global community, thoroughly united, brings the strongest economic sanctions to bear to ensure this reckless and dangerous conduct ceases.

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