Vatican voices concerns over North Korea's aggressive nuclear program

Nuclear weapons are not the answer.

Vatican spokesman Greg Burke issued a statement on Tuesday to share the Vatican's position on the growing tensions between North and South Korea, the use of nuclear weapons and the Holy See's views on international relations.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The most concerning events are "the nuclear tests carried out by North Korea," Burke explained to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Vatican undersecretary Msgr. Antoine Camilleri attended the agency's general conference in Vienna on Tuesday, where he shared, "We observe with great concern the situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"The Holy See supports the constant efforts of the international community to restart the negotiations on denuclearisation and to allow the IAEA to take up again its important role of verification in that country."

He added "the peace and stability of the region" and the integrity of the international nuclear nonproliferation protocols are endangered.

North Korea was experimenting with nuclear tests earlier this month and the world has no reason to believe they will stop.

On Monday, the United States announced it sanctioned a Chinese industrial machinery and equipment wholesaler to tighten North Korea's financial concerns.

The wholesaler, which Fortune named Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development (DHID), was accused of acting on behalf of North Korea Kwangson Banking Corp. (KKBC), which is under US and UN sanctions, to help North Korea acquire weapons of mass destruction.

Criminal charges were filed against DHID and the Justice Department revealed bank accounts associated with the firm and main companies have received hundreds of millions of dollars transited through the United States.

By imposing financial straits on the country, Adam Szubin, the Treasury Department's acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, claimed: "Today's action exposes a key illicit network supporting North Korea's weapons proliferation.

"DHID and its employees sought to evade US and UN sanctions, facilitating access to the US financial system by a designated entity."

In a show of force, the United States and South Korean navies have been conducting joint military exercises off the Korean peninsula.

Meanwhile, South Korea is without nuclear weapons, leaving it to rely on the United States, which deployed over 28,000 troops in the country and tens of thousands in Japan.

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