The picture is a sombre one, and we are all affected.

I very much hope that Member States will use this opportunity to bring out their observations and ideas about both the substance of our issues the sombre realities of today's world  and the process and work ahead.

When we go into that work, we should be reminded of two important realities one, the expectations and dreams of our peoples for this Organization, our United Nations the other, the sombre realities in this world, which we must also feel in these halls.

Mr. Meyer (Canada) said that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's withdrawal from the Treaty, non compliance by the Islamic Republic of Iran with its obligations, which raised doubts about that country's real intentions, the violations which the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya had admitted to having committed and the black market in nuclear technologies in which Mr. Khan and citizens and entities from several States parties to the Treaty were involved had made the past year a sombre one.