North Korea, 1992

On behalf of the delegation of the

Democratic People's Republic of Korea, I would like to congratulate you,

Mr. Ganev, on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its

forty-seventh session. It is my conviction that under your able leadership

this session will come to a fruitful conclusion.

I would like also to take this opportunity to express my appreciation for

the efforts made over the past year by His Excellency

Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali in carrying out his heavy responsibilities as

Secretary-General, to ensure world peace and security and to strengthen the

role of the United Nations in line with changes in the international situation.

The end of the cold war that had persisted ever since the end of the

Second World War brought with it great changes in the recent international

situation. In this vortex of change in the international situation, the phase

of detente is beginning in North-East Asia.

Recent events on the Korean peninsula are attracting world attention.

Dialogue between the north and the south on many levels is under way to end

the distrust and confrontation resulting from prolonged national division. In

particular, the north-south high-level talks have resulted in the adoption of

the Agreement on Reconciliation, Non-Aggression, Cooperation and Exchanges.

This is a great victory in the nationwide struggle to bring about the three

principles of national reunification: independence, peaceful reunification

and great national unity. It is a new, historic milestone on the road to

national reunification. The north-south Agreement and the north-south Joint

Statement of 4 July constitute a programme for national reunification that

reflects the aspirations of the Korean nation to reunification and the current

trends towards peace.

In the north-south Agreement, the north and the south make it clear that

relations between the two sides are not inter-State relations but rather

special relations formed provisionally in the process of moving towards

reunification. In the Agreement, the north and the south also pledge to

recognize and respect each other's systems and to refrain from interfering in

each other's internal affairs.

This Agreement shows that both the north and the south want a single

unified State, not "two States", and look to achieve reunification along the

lines of confederation. Reunification through confederation based on one

nation, one State, two systems and two Governments has become a realistic

goal. It is an issue which can no longer be avoided both in view of the

present trend of the international situation which is moving towards

rapprochement, detente and the end of confrontation and in the light of the

specific conditions on the Korean peninsula where two different ideas and

systems exist.

The highlight of our proposal for reunification through confederation is

that the north and south form a unified national Government to be represented

by the north and the south on an equal basis under which the north and the

south exercise regional autonomy with equal rights and power. It will be the

most peaceful and ideal method of reunification. It will form a single State

by uniting the two autonomous governments, maintaining the two systems

intact. And it will be based on the principle of coexistence with neither

side conquering or overpowering or being conquered or being overpowered.

This proposal for confederation, acceptable to both sides during

dialogue, is now turning from possibility to feasibility. The recent

8th North-South High Level Talks in Pyongyang have led to the functioning of

joint committees for the implementation of the Agreement in different areas

such as political, military, economic, social and cultural.

It is true that the north-south dialogue for implementing the Agreement

is confronted with a series of obstacles and difficulties because the feelings

of distrust and confrontation conceived during the long period of the division

still remain.

However, we are optimistic about the prospect of north-south dialogue and

reunification. Blood is thicker than water. The homogeneous nationhood of

the Korean people surpasses the differences of the systems and ideas of the

north and south. Our people, with their strong sense of national

independence, have good traditions and experiences of having achieved unity

for the common cause of the nation, transcending the differences of ideas,

political views and religious beliefs.

The Government of our Republic will exert all its efforts to follow

through the already-begun reunification process in order to reach the final

point of reunification by reviving such national traditions. We will also do

our best to resolve the nuclear issue of the Korean peninsula at an early date

in the interest of peace and reunification of Korea, as agreed upon by the

north and the south in the Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the

Korean Peninsula.

The nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula and the nuclear suspicion that

remains unresolved stem from the deployment of United States nuclear weapons

in south Korea. Therefore, fundamental to resolving the nuclear issue on the

Korean peninsula is the withdrawal of United States nuclear weapons from South

Korea and the removal of the serious apprehension of our nation which has been

under a nuclear threat during the last 30 years.

To this end, it is urgent to adopt an agreement and regulations of

inspection under the Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean

Peninsula and to inspect the United States nuclear weapons and bases in south

Korea. The North-South Joint Nuclear Control Committee, although it has met

several times, has not yet adopted the regulations of inspection to verify the

denuclearization of the Korean peninsula nor has it carried out any inspection

of the United States nuclear weapons and bases in south Korea. This is due to

the fact that the south Korean authorities are not in a position to exercise

their sovereign right regarding the question of United States nuclear weapons

and bases.

This situation, we believe, has prevented the North-South Joint Nuclear

Control Committee from arriving at an agreement to include the United States

nuclear weapons and bases in the scope of the parameters for inspection.

Quite recently, it was revealed that United States nuclear weapons have been

stockpiled in the secret nuclear storage in south Korea and a naval base in

Jinhae, south Korea, also serves as a United States nuclear submarine base.

This causes a great number of people to have suspicion about the sincerity of

the announcement of the non-existence of United States nuclear weapons in

south Korea. It is most deplorable that the south Korean authorities do not

have a say on the presence of nuclear weapons from other countries which are

now on their own soil nor can they verify the withdrawal of these nuclear

weapons.

As far as we are concerned, we have declared time and time again that we

have no nuclear weapons, nor any intention or capacity to make them. We have

no need to produce them. It is our firm will, in line with our invariable

anti-nuclear peace policy, to use nuclear energy only for peaceful purposes

and not to develop nuclear weapons.

The honesty of the peaceful nuclear policy of the Government of our Republic

and the will for denuclearization have already been proved by several ad hoc

inspections of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The so-called

suspicion of our "nuclear development" is fading away. We do what we say and

we never say empty words.

If the south Korean authorities are really concerned about the "future"

of the Korean peninsula and interested in realizing its denuclearization, they

should take an independent stand free from outside forces and respond as soon

as possible to adopting the regulations of inspection, so that the overall

inspection of United States nuclear weapons and bases could be carried out as

agreed upon by the north and the south.

The reunification of the Korean peninsula presupposes the eradication of

the legacy of the cold war and the termination of foreign interference. The

Korean question has been closely related to international relations

historically. The division of Korea was brought about not by the internal

contradictions of our nation but was imposed on it against its will to serve

only the interests of foreign forces.

It is foreign forces that impede the ongoing north-south talks.

Consequently, the key issue in realizing the reunification of the Korean

peninsula today is to end foreign interference in the Korean question. The

presence of United States troops in south Korea is clear evidence of

interference by a foreign force impeding the solution to the Korean question.

During the cold-war era the presence of foreign armed forces in other

countries was "justified" under the pretext of preserving the so-called

balance of forces. However, this argument no longer holds today since the

cold war ended and power politics have become meaningless.

There is no justification whatsoever for the continued presence of United

States forces in south Korea. On the Korean peninsula, the north and the

south have pledged themselves to non-aggression through the Agreement and have

formed the joint military commission to deal with military affairs.

Nevertheless, the United States is still pursuing a policy of "power

politics" based on the cold-war way of thinking. The United States continues

to "justify" the stationing of its armed forces in south Korea with the new

argument that a "power vacuum" could be created.

It is contradictory to claim, according to one's interest, that on some

occasions peace has come to the world and on other occasions to divide the

world into friends and enemies, talking about a "power vacuum". The United

States must drop its policy of power towards the Korean peninsula and withdraw

its troops from south Korea, thereby fulfilling its responsibility in helping

to achieve peace and the reunification of Korea.

In today's world - which stands at the crossroads of independence or

domination, peace or war, cooperation or division the peace, security and

reunification of the Korean peninsula become one of the most urgent questions,

the solution of which brooks no further delay. The problem of Korea's

reunification is a touchstone. Whether or not it is solved will clarify

whether international society is entering a stage of independent, peaceful and

democratic development or still remains in the era of domination and

subjugation, conflict and confrontation.

It is our hope that Korea's reunification will be realized through

confederation on the basis of the three principles of independence, peaceful

reunification and great national unity which the north and south have already

announced with full commitment, thus showing one part of the genuine

development of international society.

Humankind is now at a historical turning-point for opposing domination

and subjugation and building a new, free and peaceful world. Such aspirations

of humankind, however, are still being gravely challenged by the old forces

that pursue power politics. Despite the collapse of the cold-war structure

characterized by confrontation between the super-Powers, there are new, open

attempts to capitalize on this situation in order to establish world

domination.

If such attempts are allowed to go unchecked, the world will change from

the cold-war structure of a bipolar system to the hegemonistic structure of a

unipolar system and the democratic development of international society will

suffer yet another setback.

Therefore, today's era can brook no further delay in establishing a new,

just international order to replace the old international order under which a

few countries go unchallenged and freely dominate the destiny of humankind.

There are big and small countries in the world, but there cannot be senior or

junior countries; there are developed and less developed nations, but there

cannot be dominating nations and nations destined to be dominated.

All countries and nations are entitled to independent and equal rights as

equal members of international society, regardless of the size of their

territories or level of development. Neither privileges nor arbitrariness

should be tolerated in international relations, and friendship and cooperation

among countries should be developed positively on the principle of mutual

respect, non-interference, equality and mutual benefit.

It is the expectation of the people of the world that the United Nations,

under the changed situation today, will play a pivotal role in securing peace

and achieving the common prosperity of mankind by fulfilling its mission as

the international organization to safeguard world peace and justice.

At the recent tenth summit conference of non-aligned countries, the Heads

of State and Government were unanimous in their emphasis on the necessity of

strengthening the role of the United Nations in safeguarding world peace and

security and in establishing an equitable international order.

The United Nations should pay careful attention to bringing about

disarmament and the dismantling of weapons of mass destruction, including

nuclear weapons, in keeping with the present situation in which the cold war

has come to an end. Mankind can neither get rid of the danger of nuclear war,

nor expect true peace, so long as the arms race continues unbridled and

nuclear weapons remain. We hold that a comprehensive treaty banning nuclear

tests should be concluded as soon as possible. Testing and production of

nuclear weapons should be stopped, and nuclear weapons should be abolished

once and for all.

The prevention of the emergence of any new nuclear Power is another

important issue in settling the nuclear problem. In this connection, we could

not but express our concern that, despite world condemnation, Japan is storing

more nuclear fuel than it needs, and is even carrying out an adventurous plan

involving the marine transportation of plutonium.

The Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will in the

future, as in the past, make positive efforts to abolish nuclear weapons,

biological and chemical weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction on

the globe.

The United Nations should pay particular attention to the economic issue,

one of the important problems in establishing a new international order at

present, and endeavour to eliminate the ever-widening gap between the

developed and the developing countries. People in many developing countries

are enduring great suffering from famine and disease. Anyone who feels

responsibility for the survival and future of mankind cannot turn away from

such tragedies occurring in the world.

It is the most urgent common task of mankind at present to spare the

peoples of the developing countries the calamities of famine and disease. The

developed countries should feel due responsibility for the economic poverty of

the developing countries, and should refrain from hindering the economic

development of the developing countries. In this regard, the Government of

our Republic holds that dialogue between the developed and the developing

countries should be resumed at the earliest possible date, the present unequal

international economic relations should be restructured, and constructive

measures should be taken for the establishment of a new equitable

international economic order.

Along with this, the developing countries should take practical measures

to achieve South-South cooperation, starting with the spheres of food,

agriculture and public health, which will be indispensable in eradicating

famine and disease.

The United Nations should also continue to concentrate on the peaceful

solution of regional disputes and the elimination of all kinds of interference

in internal affairs and unjust pressure. Today, when the confrontational

structure between the super-Powers has collapsed and new, many-sided

international relations are emerging, ethnic, national and racial

contradictions which have long been obscured behind the cold war are rapidly

surfacing with increased intensity, thus triggering new regional conflicts.

These constitute elements of instability, which will complicate regional

situations and cause serious damage to world peace and security.

Urgent measures should be taken to settle the problems of regional

disputes peacefully through dialogue, negotiations and political

coordination. All countries and nations are entitled to decide freely on

their own political and economic systems and development on the basis of

respect for the principles of national sovereignty, the right to

self-determination, and non-interference in internal affairs. We should not

allow any attempts to infringe upon the sovereignty of other countries, to

interfere in their internal affairs and to impose unfair blockades and

pressure. Human rights should no longer be used as leverage for political

pressure against and interference in the developing countries.

We take this opportunity to extend our unqualified support for and

solidarity with the struggle of the peoples in Asia, Africa, Latin America and

the rest of the world to safeguard national independence and sovereignty and

achieve independent national development, particularly the struggle of the

Cambodian people under the leadership of Prince Norodom Sihanouk to restore

peace and national unity and the status of a sovereign State; the struggle of

the Palestinian and other Arab peoples for a fair solution to the Middle East

question, centred on the Palestinian question; the struggle of the South

African people to end the policy of apartheid and attain their country's

democratic development; and the struggle of the Cuban people to defend their

sovereignty against all kinds of foreign pressure and interference.

The Government of our Republic recognizes that the United Nations should

democratize itself as soon as possible in order to fulfil its responsibilities

and roles in establishing a new world order. Before anything else is done,

the United Nations should be restructured and reformed to develop

international relations on a new democratic basis.

The restructuring of the United Nations is indispensable, inasmuch as it will

enable the world body to perform efficiently its main mission as an

international organization safeguarding world peace and justice by dynamically

coping with a changed reality and new challenges.

To this end, the United Nations should be democratized on the principle

of ensuring independence, equality and justice for all Member States and never

tolerating privileges within the United Nations. Independence, equality and

justice are, indeed, strong binding forces that have enabled more than 100

countries on this planet to join in one community, the United Nations,

irrespective of differences in ideologies and systems and the gap between the

rich and the poor.

In order to realize the democratization of the United Nations and to

ensure its impartiality in line with the present changing international

situation, the privileged positions of a few countries should no longer be

permitted in the United Nations. The relations between the Security Council,

the General Assembly and the Secretary-General should be reorganized with a

view to strengthening the United Nations. In particular, the Security Council

should not infringe the supreme authority of the General Assembly.

In this regard, we believe that special attention should be paid to the

problem of the composition of the Security Council. However, we consider that

a country that still fails to feel any responsibility for aggression and war

crimes committed during the Second World War is not qualified to become a

permanent member of the Security Council, even if the number of the Council's

permanent members is to be increased.

One of the most important problems in democratizing the United Nations is

to eliminate the leftover inequities of the cold war. The United Nations

Command, a legacy of the cold-war era, still remains on the Korean peninsula.

It is indeed astonishing and surprising that these "United Nations forces" -

which are not under the command of the United Nations and over which the

United Nations cannot exercise any authority still exist in this world.

The United Nations should no longer deeply disappoint Member States with

the sense that its authority is applied selectively, depending on which State

is involved. The United Nations should live up to the expectations of Member

States in terms of its impartial and sincere image by eradicating all unjust

and contradictory remnants of the cold war.

Our delegation attaches great importance to this forty-seventh session of

the General Assembly and will exert every effort to ensure its success. What

is important in ensuring world peace and security and in strengthening

international cooperation is to further enhance the responsibility and role of

States Members of the United Nations.

The Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will actively

contribute to building a prosperous, peaceful and free new world by faithfully

fulfilling its obligations as a State Member of the United Nations at this

historic turning-point in the achievement of a durable peace and security in

the world.