Democratic People's Republic of Korea
PERMANENT MISSION TO THE UNITED NATIONS
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Statement by H.E. Mr. PAK KIL YON Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chairman of the Delegation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea

ith at the 64 Session of the

United Nations General Assembly

New York, 28 September, Juche 98(2009)

Mr. President, At the outset, I, on behalf of the delegation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), would like to congratulate you, Dr. Ali Abdussalam Treki on your election as President of the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). At the same time, I wish to express my expectation that your skillful stewardship will lead the current session to a success. Mr. President, The 64th session of the UNGA will mark an end of the first decade of a new century the humankind ushered in with a great deal of anticipation and aspiration. One of the major tasks facing the UNGA this year is to take an impartial review of the first decade and set the correct path ahead. The humankind has yet to realize its long-cherished desire to thrive in a peaceful and equitable world free from war, while its hopeful aspirations are confronted with a host of serious challenges one after another. The Afghan war is in escalation whereas the Iraqi war is still at a loose end. The cold wind of nuclear arms race is blowing even before opening the negotiations on nuclear disarmament. Avian influenza is not completely subdued. Yet a new strain of A/H1N1 flu is sweeping the world. This year the world is undergoing much warmer globe than last year and witnessing more stagnant economies and much more people out of work everywhere. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has become more arrogant, resulting in further inequality and prevalent double standards in international relations. We need to direct serious attention to this prevailing reality when we review the first decade of the new century.

Mr. President, The DPRK, under the leadership of the great General KIM JONG IL, has now entered a new phase of the state building. The great, prosperous and powerful nation as we say is a country in which national power is strong, everything thriving and the people living happily with nothing to envy in the world. To build such a country was the lifetime wish of the great leader of our people, President KIM IL SUNG and to open the gate of the thriving nation by 2012 which marks the centenary of his birth is the invariable will of the DPRK government and people. The main task before us in the next 3 years is to concentrate all efforts on the building of an economic power which is the last height of building a great, prosperous and powerful nation. The Korean peninsula remains as ever in a state of armistice. But now that we possess a dependable nuclear deterrent, we can possibly prevent war and defend peace. For over half a century our country was compelled to produce bullets first rather than sweets while suffering from nuclear threats and danger of war posed by hostile forces, but today we have settled down to channel our main efforts into the building of a great, prosperous and powerful nation. To all intents and purposes, this is completely attributable to the Songun-based politics unfolded by the great General KIM JONG IL. When our country turns into an economic power, it will create a new impetus to the economic development of the region. Our strife for economic building will constitute a significant element in the efforts of the international community to attain the UN Millennium Development Goals. Mr. President, We have never denied the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and the rest of the world.

The denuclearization is the behest of President KIM IL SUNG and nuclear-free world is a long cherished-desire of humankind. The Korean people are holding the sovereignty and peace of the country dearer than any other people and nation of the world, proceeding from the characteristics of its historical development. The DPRK has done everything it could to realize the peaceful reunification of the country, remove nuclear threats and source of war and secure peace and stability on the Korean peninsula. We initiated the denuclearization of Northeast Asia and the Korean peninsula and advanced the proposal on replacing the Armistice Agreement with a peace agreement and the proposal of adopting the DPRK-US non-aggression treaty. However, our effort has not received due response from the United States (US). The US considers the Korean issue only in the light of its Asian strategy and dose not want to see the entire Korean peninsula denuclearized. Thus, it resulted in increased nuclear threats against the DPRK. The arbitrariness of the US finds its expression in arguing that the DPRK must not launch even a peaceful satellite. The UNSC is being abused by this arbitrariness. We came to the conclusion that so long as the US dose not change its nuclear policy as at present time, we have no other option but to rely on our dependable nuclear possession to ensure nuclear balance of the region, if we are to preserve peace and stability in Northeast Asia. The denuclearization of the Korean peninsula depends on whether or not the US changes its nuclear policy towards Korea. In order to realize the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, the US administration must discard old concept of confrontation and show the "change" in practice, as it recently stated on several occasions.

Mr. President We do not pursue nuclear arms race. 3

The mission of our nuclear weapon is to deter a war. We will only possess nuclear deterrent to such an extent as to deter military attack and its threat against our country. The deterrence will be directly proportional to the threat on the Korean Peninsula, as in Europe and elsewhere. The DPRK, while in possession of nuclear weapons, will act in a responsible manner in management, use and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons as well as in nuclear disarmament. We share the position of all peace-loving countries including the nonaligned countries in opposing nuclear war, nuclear arms race and proliferation of nuclear weapons. "Sanctions" are now imposed on us in the name of United Nations (UN) on the grounds that we possessed nuclear deterrent. It may be recalled that the UN was born in the country which produced the first nuclear weapon and all five permanent member states of the UNSC are nuclear powers. Had these countries shown sincerity in nuclear disarmament long time ago and refrained from arbitrary act of selectively taking an issue with the peaceful satellite launch of other country, the nuclear-related situation of the world may have evolved differently. The DPRK attaches importance to sovereignty and equality enshrined in the UN Charter. The principle of sovereignty and equality is also the reason that we joined UN as a member. Unfair and unequal sanctions will never be recognized nor accepted. It is the stand of the DPRK government to react to the dialogue with a dialogue and respond to the "sanctions" by strengthening nuclear deterrence. If the US comes to dialogue with "sanctions", we will also participate in the dialogue with bolstered nuclear deterrence.

In order to strengthen the role of UN in conformity with the requirement of the times and the changed situation, it is important to thoroughly democratize the UNSC and decisively raise the authority of the General Assembly. In restructuring the UNSC, we should debate first on the feasible issues such as expansion of non-permanent members of the UNSC on the principle of fully ensuring the representation of the non-aligned and other developing countries which account for majority of the UN member states. In enhancing the authority of the General Assembly, we need to discuss the issue of submitting to the UNGA for approval the decisions of the UNSC and, in particular, all the decisions related to the principle of sovereign equality of the UN Charter. UN is required to have proper criteria and principle for debating human rights issue. The UN Charter recognizes the rights of national self-determination and choice, the principle of non-interference in internal affairs and all international human rights instruments set the non-politicization of human rights as their elementary principles. But now in UN, some debates are running counter to this. Any attempt to make an issue of systems of specific countries and to interfere in their internal affairs under the disguise of the "protection of human rights" is, in itself, a violation of human rights denying the right of people of those countries to choose their own system. UN should pay attention to the fact that on its human rights agenda there are only "problems" of small countries without mentioning about big countries, the west and European countries. Due attention should also be given to the reality in which the role of nonaligned and other developing countries is enhanced on the international arena. International efforts to attain the Millennium Development Goals and address the central issues of UN like global economic crisis and climate change urgently call for active participation of a broad spectrum of developing countries including non-aligned movement.

Mr. President, The foreign policy of the DPRK, as in the past and now, so also in the future, will be committed to the principles of independence, peace and friendship. The DPRK government will make active efforts to further strengthen and develop friendly and cooperative relations with all UN member states under these principles and discharge its full responsibility in defending peace and security of the Korean peninsula and the rest of the world. Thank you.