ISLAMABAD, Oct 4: Pakistan on Wednesday expressed ‘deep concern’ over North Korea’s announcement that it would conduct a nuclear test and urged its government to exercise restraint.

“We urge the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to desist from introducing nuclear weapons in the Korean peninsula which would be highly destabilizing for the region,” the Foreign Office said in statement. “The DPRK must exercise restraint and return to the six-party talks,” it added.

“Pakistan supports the six-party talks and hopes that all the parties would seriously engage in efforts to ensure that the Korean peninsula is kept free of nuclear weapons and legitimate interests of North Korea are respected,” the foreign office said.

CHINA: The North Korean ultimatum came a day after Pakistan and China held the third round of consultations on arms control and disarmament issues during which regional and global security matters were also discussed.

At the consultations that took place at the foreign office on Monday, it was emphasized that non-proliferation, disarmament and arms control issues could be best addressed through multilaterally negotiated, universal and non-discriminatory regimes.

“Both sides expressed satisfaction at the level of cooperation between the two countries in various fields and noted the similarity of their approaches to issues of disarmament, non-proliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy,” the foreign office said in a statement on Wednesday.