North Korea on Thursday skipped the diplomatic niceties for a combative tone when it took the helm of the Conference on Disarmament.

"My country is still at war with the United States," declared Pyongyang's ambassador Han Tae-Song.

Around 50 countries voiced their outrage that unpredictable nuclear-armed North Korea is being tasked with chairing the world's most foremost multilateral disarmament forum for the next three weeks.

North Korea took over the rotating presidency of the Geneva-based CD, according to a decades-old practice among the body's 65 members following the alphabetical order of country names in English.

But despite the automatic nature of North Korea's presidency of the conference, dozens of non-governmental organisations had urged countries to walk out of the room in protest.

There was no dramatic exit, but many nations opted to send only lower-level diplomats, while the United States, the European Union, Britain, Australia and South Korea, among others, took the occasion to chastise Pyongyang over its numerous ballistic missile tests and feared preparation for a fresh nuclear test -- the first since 2017.

"We remain gravely concerned about the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's reckless actions which continue to seriously undermine the very value of the Disarmament Conference," Australian Ambassador Amanda Gorely said, speaking on behalf of the group of countries.

- Not 'tacit consent' -

The decision to remain in the room should not in any way be interpreted as "tacit consent" of North Korea's violations of international law, she insisted.

Pyongyang's ambassador, who opened Thursday's meeting held exceptionally in the United Nations' distinctive human rights chamber in Geneva, merely responded: "The president takes note of your statement."

In Washington, State Department spokesman Ned Price said that North Korea's role called the UN body's utility into doubt.

"It certainly does call that into question when you have a regime like the DPRK in a senior leadership post, a regime that has done as much as any other government around the world to erode the non-proliferation norm," he said, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

North Korea, one of the most militarised countries in the world, has carried out a number of missile tests since the beginning of the year.

The US and South Korea say it fired three missiles, including possibly its largest ICBM, hours after President Joe Biden closed a visit to the region late last month.

And the US and others have warned Pyongyang is preparing its first nuclear test in five years.

In Thursday's joint statement, Gorely urged North Korea to "observe a moratorium on nuclear test explosions."

After repeatedly "taking note" as president of the criticism, ambassador Han took the floor in his national capacity to insist on North Korea's right to defend itself against US "threats".

Pyongyang, he pointed out, remained officially at war with the United States since the 1953 ceasefire that ended combat and split the Korean peninsula.

"No country has the right to criticise or interfere in the national defence policy" of North Korea, he said.

The CD which is not a UN body but meets at UN headquarters in Geneva, is a multilateral disarmament forum that holds three sessions a year.

It negotiates arms control and disarmament accords and focuses on the cessation of the nuclear arms race.

US says to back IAEA resolution despite Iran warning
Washington (AFP) June 2, 2022 - The United States confirmed Thursday it would join Europeans in backing a resolution urging Iran to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog, despite warnings from Tehran that the move could scuttle diplomacy.

"We can confirm that we plan to join the UK, France and Germany in seeking a resolution focused on the need for Iran to fully cooperate with the IAEA," State Department spokesman Ned Price said ahead of a meeting next week.

He said that the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency raised "very serious concerns that Iran has failed to credibly respond" to the Vienna-based body's questions.

"It is essential that Iran does fully comply with its legally binding obligations" under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Price told reporters.

Iran warned Wednesday against "unconstructive action" at the IAEA and said that it would respond "firmly and appropriately."

The potential showdown comes amid a long stalemate in negotiations to revive a 2015 nuclear agreement that was trashed by then president Donald Trump.

President Joe Biden backs a return to the agreement and his administration has previously steered clear of condemning Iran at the IAEA, with the Europeans also backing down.

But the US negotiator on Iran has said that chances are dimming for an agreement despite more than a year of indirect talks.

The Biden administration has voiced willingness to remove sweeping sanctions imposed by Trump in exchange for Iran's returning to full compliance.

But Iran has also pressed for the removal of the clerical state's elite Revolutionary Guards from a terrorism blacklist, a step that Biden has rejected.

The latest IAEA report said Iran has not clarified questions about the presence of nuclear material found at three undeclared sites.

Iran says it is not seeking a nuclear weapon but has been met by skepticism especially from Israel, which is suspected in an assassination campaign against Iranian nuclear scientists.

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