Canada to boycott UN disarmament conference

Canada is expected to boycott the United Nations conference on disarmament in protest of the UN’s choice of North Korea as conference chair. A senior government official says Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird will announce the decision on Monday.

So Se Pyong is North Korea's ambassador. Baird was a vocal critic of the ambassador’s appointment as chair last week. He called the appointment ‘‘unacceptable’’ given North Korea’s track record with regards to disarmament. North Korea pulled out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003 and has threatened South Korea with military action.

Baird hopes other countries will be prompted to follow Canada’s lead and join the boycott.