US calls for compliance with nuclear treaties

US Under Secretary of State Andrea Thompson (left) and Deputy Director of the Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oleg Rozhkov (right) attends a panel discussion after a Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) conference in Beijing, China on Jan. 31, 2019.  AP

BEIJING — The US has called for other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council to adhere to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The call Thursday by Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs Andrea Thompson in Beijing comes as the U.S. is preparing to withdraw from a separate pact, the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty between the United States and the former Soviet Union.

Thompson says some countries are violating non-proliferation and developing new weapons programs, a likely reference to Russia, Iran and possibly North Korea. The NPT aims to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.

The 1987 treaty bans production, testing and deployment of land-based cruise and ballistic missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers.

NATO secretary-general has urged Russia to respect the 1987 treaty. /ee