New York, Sep 24 (DPA) UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon demanded Thursday that the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) be implemented as quickly as possible.

At the opening of a two-day conference of around 100 foreign ministers in New York, Ban called for all of the nine states which had not yet ratified the treaty to begin negotiations immediately.

Ban said the time had come for countries to show their own leadership, rather than waiting for the leadership of others.

The six states which have signed but not yet ratified the treaty are the US, Iran, Israel, Israel, China and Egypt. India, Pakistan and North Korea have not signed the treaty. North Korea's nuclear tests in May showed how important the treaty was, said Ban.

The foreign ministers then passed a resolution calling for an immediate stop to all nuclear testing pending adoption of the treaty by all countries.

The UN Security Council also intends to meet late Thursday morning to discuss steps towards nuclear disarmament.