Nagasaki marks attack anniversary

Nagasaki today demanded North Korea fully abandon nuclear weapons and urged India to sign nuclear treaties, as the Japanese city marked 63 years since it was devastated by an atomic bomb.

Thousands of people observed a minute's silence at 11.02am, the exact moment the city was hit by the world's second and last nuclear attack on August 9, 1945, killing more than 70,000 people.

"As the victim of nuclear bombs, our country has a duty and responsibility for taking the initiative to eliminate nuclear weapons," Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue told the ceremony.

"The Japanese Government must strongly demand complete abolishment of nuclear weapons in North Korea," Mr Taue said, standing at the foot of the Peace Statue – a bronze figure of a man pointing to the sky.

"It should seriously consider the creation of a northeast Asian nuclear weapon-free zone," he said.

On Wednesday the city of Hiroshima held a ceremony to mark the 63rd anniversary of the first ever nuclear attack, which killed 140,000 people.

The dropping of the two bombs by the US was followed by Japan's surrender in World War II on August 15. However, it ushered in the nuclear age and an era of fear that atomic bombs would be used again.