Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government's policy is on whether a formal request should be made for the UN Secretary-General to use his good offices to facilitate multilateral negotiations on North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.

The UN Secretary-General has called on the Democractic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to fully comply with its international obligations, as clearly set out by the UN Security Council. We continue to call on the DPRK to halt its illegal weapons programmes and show it is prepared to take verifiable steps towards denuclearisation. A positive response on the part of the DPRK is needed to facilitate any negotiations.