North Korea, 1995

On behalf of the delegation of the

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, I should like first

to congratulate you, Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral, on

your election to the presidency of the current session of

the General Assembly, demonstrating the deep trust and

expectation of Member States of the United Nations. It is

our hope that through your efforts this session will be

crowned with good results.

I should also like to express appreciation to the

Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for his

activities and efforts in strengthening the United Nations

and enhancing its responsibility and role.

Fifty years have passed since the end of the Second

World War and the foundation of the United Nations. All

the people on our planet recall those historic days with

unusual feelings.

Over the last five decades, the world’s people have

followed the path of independence and sovereignty, peace

and development, and this process has helped them

further confirm their determination and commitment to

create a new, free and peaceful world.

For the Korean people, the last five decades have

been a period of hard struggle against all forms of

challenge and difficulty, and also a period of proud

successes and victories in realizing independence under

the banner of Juche.

The entire population of the Democratic People’s

Republic of Korea celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of

the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea as a grand

and victorious festival, with great national pride and

confidence, in the wake of the fiftieth anniversary of

Korea’s liberation.

The strengthening and development of our Party and

the progress and prosperity of our Republic are the

brilliant fruit of the outstanding idea and wise leadership

5

of the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung and the respected

supreme leader Comrade Kim Jong Il.

The respected and beloved leader Comrade Kim Il

Sung devoted his whole life to the prosperity of the

fatherland and the happiness of his people, to world peace

and the common cause of humankind, and performed

immortal exploits which will be recorded in the annals of

history. Our great leader is the saviour of our Korean

nation, the Tangun nation, and the founding father of

socialist Korea. His great revolutionary exploits will remain

immortal, along with his august name. The great leader

Comrade Kim Il Sung is always with us.

More than one year has passed since the death of our

respected and beloved leader Comrade Kim Il Sung, during

which there has been neither a political vacuum nor

instability in our society, and everything has gone well in

all fields — political, economic, military and cultural.

Socialism of our own style, based on the Juche idea,

has made steady progress, since respected General Kim

Jong Il has energetically guided all the affairs of our Party

and State, including military and foreign affairs, for more

than three decades, always working together with the great

leader Comrade Kim Il Sung for the well-being of the

people.

The respected General Kim Jong Il is the supreme

leader of our Party and State and the Supreme Commander

of our revolutionary armed forces. He practices the

benevolent politics of love for and trust in the people,

basing himself on boundless loyalty and filial piety as well

as noble moral obligations towards the fatherly leader.

It is the greatest fortune and a unique blessing of

leadership for our people to have Comrade Kim Jong Il, the

great leader of our Party and people, as the supreme leader.

Today our people absolutely respect and trust the respected

General Kim Jong Il, who successfully carries forward the

revolutionary cause of Juche pioneered by the fatherly

leader, and they entrust their destiny to him and march

forward vigorously under his leadership.

Rallying closely around the respected supreme leader

Comrade Kim Jong Il in single-hearted unity, our people

will make our country, our fatherland, more prosperous and

defend and glorify our own style of socialism, centred on

the popular masses, which is independent and unique, in

line with the life-long teachings of the fatherly leader.

It is with feelings of great pride mixed with

heartbreaking bitterness that we recall the last 50 years.

As the Assembly is aware, the division of the

country and nation imposed the catastrophe of war on the

north and south of Korea. Consequently, both sides still

suffer from the tragedy of mistrust and confrontation

today, when the world is moving towards détente and

peace. It is indeed aberrant that the legacy of the cold

war, dating from the 1940s, continues into the 1990s, and

there is therefore no justification whatsoever for its

continuation. The failure of Korea’s reunification will

leave the situation on the Korean peninsula indefinitely

unstable, and this will not be helpful to peace in either

North-East Asia or the rest of the world.

Since the early days of the national division, the

respected and beloved leader Comrade Kim Il Sung put

forward a number of reasonable proposals for the peace

and peaceful reunification of the country and devoted all

his efforts to their realization until the last moment of his

life. In particular, 15 years ago the fatherly leader

advanced a proposal for national reunification through

confederation, based on the concept of one nation and one

State, two systems and two Governments. This proposal

fully reflects the reality in the north and south of Korea,

characterized by the differences in political ideas and

systems, as well as the Korean people’s desire for

national reconciliation and reunification on the principle

of neither side conquering or being conquered by the

other.

Upholding the Ten-Point Programme for the Great

Unity of the Whole Nation for the Reunification of the

Country, proposed by the respected and beloved leader

Comrade Kim Il Sung, and in accordance with the three

principles of independence, peaceful reunification and

great national unity and the proposal for a confederal

reunification, we will make our best efforts towards the

unity of the whole nation, on the basis of patriotism and

the spirit of national independence, and towards the

establishment of an independent, peaceful and neutral

reunified State of Korea.

There is no change in our position with respect to

the North-South dialogue. We are prepared to resume it

when the atmosphere is created in favour of such

dialogue. However, the North-South dialogue, which

began after painstaking efforts, has been wrecked by the

South Korean authorities, and the atmosphere is not yet

ready for the resumption of the dialogue.

6

When our fatherly leader passed away, Heads of State

and Governments of the world, even those whose countries

have no diplomatic relations with ours, expressed

condolences for his death. However, the South Korean

authorities, far from expressing condolences for the

misfortune of their fellow countrymen, ordered the whole

territory of South Korea put on an emergency alert,

pointing their guns at our Republic. Worse still, they

cracked down on the South Korean people who were

mourning the death of the father of the nation.

Nevertheless, the South Korean authority still refuses to

apologize for this grave, unethical crime, because of which

he is denied a seat at any dialogue by the Korean people in

both the north and the south, as well as abroad. If the South

Korean authorities are sincere in their desire to have

dialogue with us, all they have to do first is apologize for

the crime they have committed against their fellow

countrymen.

Another main stumbling-block to the resumption of

inter-Korean dialogue and reunification is South Korea’s

National Security Law, which defines the fellow

countrymen in the north as the enemy and criminalizes any

South Korean contacts or dialogue with the people in the

North. The National Security Law allows no room at all for

elementary rights of democracy and freedom in South

Korea today. This medieval law is invoked to suppress and

persecute a large number of people, including youths and

students calling for the democratization of South Korean

society and pro-reunification patriots who have visited the

north. This has resulted in a total freeze on and blockade of

multi-channel dialogues, contacts and exchanges between

the north and south. All these facts demonstrate that as long

as the National Security Law remains in place, violating

human rights ruthlessly and antagonizing the dialogue

partners, freedom and democracy are inconceivable in

South Korea, and the North-South dialogue and peaceful

national reunification will be simply unfeasible.

Voices calling for the abolition of the National

Security Law can be heard not only in South Korea but

also in various other parts of the world. Last year the

United States Department of State urged on two occasions

that South Korean authorities abolish their National Security

Law, and many delegates called for its abolition at meetings

of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. There

is no justification whatsoever for the maintenance of the

National Security Law, which is anachronistic and evil. For

dialogue and contacts, free travel and exchanges between

the north and the south of Korea, all legal and physical

barriers, such as the National Security Law and the concrete

wall dividing the Korean peninsula, should be removed at

an early date.

The top priority on any agenda for ensuring peace

and security and hastening national reunification on the

Korean peninsula is the establishment of a new peace

arrangement. In this regard, as we have made clear more

than once, the outdated system of the Korean armistice

should be replaced with a new peace arrangement

between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and

the United States, which is primarily responsible for

peace on the Korean peninsula. The north and south of

Korea adopted the Agreement on Reconciliation, Non-

Aggression, Cooperation and Exchanges between the

South and the North in December 1991, which is a de

facto, written, inter-Korean peace arrangement. All that

the north and south have to do is put into operation such

a peace arrangement that commits both sides to non-

aggression.

What remains to be done now is for the Democratic

People’s Republic of Korea to establish a new peace

arrangement with the United States, which holds the real

military commanding power in South Korea. This process

cannot be delayed any longer, both in view of the

contemporary trend shifting towards peace and détente

and away from confrontation and in the current context of

the implementation of the Agreed Framework between the

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the United

States.

The United States must fulfil its responsibility and

role in working out a new peace arrangement that will

replace the system of armistice, a typical cold-war-era

legacy still existing on the Korean peninsula. Once legal

and institutional mechanisms for such a peace

arrangement are in place between the Democratic

People’s Republic of Korea and the United States, the

tension on the Korean peninsula will be defused

drastically. This in turn will facilitate the smooth

implementation of the inter-Korean agreement and prove

helpful in stabilizing the situation in North-East Asia and

the Pacific as well.

When both the Democratic People’s Republic of

Korea and the United States work together with mutual

trust, they can resolve those issues that still remain

outstanding on the Korean peninsula. This has been

proved by the process of resolving the so-called nuclear

issue on the Korean peninsula, about which the world

community had once been deeply concerned.

7

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the

United States signed the Agreed Framework in Geneva in

October of 1994, and since then they have both been taking

practical steps to implement it. We have honored our

commitment by freezing our graphite-moderated reactors

and their related facilities, and in return the United States

has been working towards progress with respect to the

light-water reactor project to be provided to the Democratic

People’s Republic of Korea and a number of other agreed

areas.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has, in

fact, fully implemented its obligations under the Agreed

Framework between the Democratic People’s Republic of

Korea and the United States, and this, indeed, goes far

beyond the obligations to be fulfilled by a State signatory

to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

under the Safeguards Agreement with the International

Atomic Energy Agency.

There will be no complicated problems that cannot be

resolved smoothly if international commitments are

implemented as sincerely as the Democratic People’s

Republic of Korea has done. The point at issue is how the

United States will go about proceeding down the road, and

we are closely following the course of its actions.

If the United States remains as sincere in its approach

as it was during its discussions with the Democratic

People’s Republic of Korea on the nuclear issue, the issues

relating to the establishment of a new peace arrangement on

the Korean peninsula will certainly be resolved smoothly.

The continuation of the armistice status in Korea still

ties down the relationship between the Democratic People’s

Republic of Korea and the United Nations to continuing

belligerency. The establishment of a new peace arrangement

on the Korean peninsula is a matter that deserves the due

attention of the United Nations, which has to work hard to

do its part in promoting the arrangement’s realization.

This is the only logical course both in terms of wiping

clean the slate of the past unsavory relationship of the

United Nations with the Democratic People’s Republic of

Korea, a dignified United Nations Member State, and in the

light of implementing resolution 3390 B (XXX), calling for

the dissolution of the United Nations Command and

replacement of the Armistice Agreement with a peace

agreement.

The United Nations should do all it can to boldly

eliminate the old legacy of the cold-war era and to help

establish a new peace arrangement on the Korean

peninsula.

I would like to take this opportunity to express our

profound thanks to the Heads of State and Government

and the peoples of various countries for their support,

encouragement and firm solidarity with the Korean people

in their just cause of peace on the Korean peninsula and

Korea’s peaceful reunification.

Today, on its fiftieth anniversary, the United Nations

is faced with heavy tasks if it is to work more actively

and effectively for the consolidation of world peace and

security, the advancement of social and economic

development, and the common prosperity of humankind.

In conformity with the purposes and principles enshrined

in its Charter, the United Nations should make a

substantial contribution to the efforts of all countries and

nations to safeguard national independence and

sovereignty and to build a new, free and peaceful world

without any forms of domination or subjugation.

An important priority in the fulfilment by the United

Nations of its own mission and role is to make sure that

the application of the principle of international justice and

fairness is in place. International justice and fairness are

vital to the United Nations activities. However, a minority

of big Powers are exercising their privileged rights and

behaving themselves in a high-handed manner, in

opposition to the United Nations Charter, while a majority

of small and weak nations are denied their well-deserved

positions. Still worse, intolerable events have occurred

which ignore the desire of the developing countries and

violate their interests.

The United Nations should refrain from any acts

running counter to the principle of international justice

and fairness in its activities and, moreover, should not

unjustly apply double standards that enable certain

countries to abuse the United Nations in pursuing their

own political purposes.

The United Nations should respect the sovereignty

and interests of the small countries and treat all countries

on an equal footing, and should prove itself worthy of its

prestige as a world body that substantially contributes to

world peace and security, to the economic development

of each country and to the greater welfare of peoples.

Many countries in the world today are fully justified in

their call for the restructuring and democratization of the

United Nations. The United Nations will not be able to

fulfil its own mission and role unless it adapts to the

8

changes of the times, lives up to the aspirations of

humankind and overhauls some impractical structures and

authority.

The restructuring of the Security Council is most

essential for the democratization of the United Nations.

One of the key points in the expansion of Security

Council membership is to accord priority to the developing

countries that form an absolute majority of the United

Nations membership, and apply the principle of equal

regional distribution with due consideration given to the

number of countries in each region. A country like Japan

which has not apologized enough for, and wiped the slate

clean of, its past wrongdoings is not entitled to become a

permanent member of the Security Council. Another point

is that the veto rights of the permanent members of the

Security Council should be abrogated. The removal of the

veto system will mean removing the major stumbling-block

to the democratization of the United Nations and the

elimination of the legacies of the cold-war era that have

encouraged hegemonistic and high-handed actions by a

minority of big Powers. At the same time, the power and

authority of the Security Council should be curtailed, while

the General Assembly should be given more power, and

open access to all the work of the Security Council should

be available, including to its informal consultations. For a

resolution of the Security Council adopted on behalf of the

United Nations and calling for sanctions or the use of force

against its Member States to come into force, the resolution

will have to be approved by more than two thirds of the

Member States at the General Assembly.

Disarmament, especially nuclear disarmament, is still

one of the most important problems placed before the

United Nations.

A number of signs of progress in the field of

disarmament have emerged since the end of the cold war.

However, the process of nuclear-weapons reduction is still

moving at a snail’s pace, and the concept of what approach

should be taken to the existence of nuclear weaponry

remains elusive. The continuing pursuit by the nuclear-

weapon States of their respective monopolies of nuclear-

weapons capability only keeps alive the danger to us of

nuclear wars and nuclear proliferation.

The nuclear-weapon States must turn around and

measure up to the desire and aspiration of humankind to

live in peace on this planet by carrying through the

universal and complete abolition of nuclear weapons in line

with the present-day trends in favour of the establishment

of nuclear-weapon-free and peace zones.

Today, the question of development has assumed a

very serious dimension for the absolute majority of the

developing countries. It is, indeed, encouraging to note

that the preparation of the Agenda for Development that

began at the initiative of the developing countries, with a

view to the enhancement of the functions and role of the

United Nations in the field of development, is now in the

home stretch. If the Agenda for Development is to

contribute substantially to the development efforts of the

developing countries, it should be directed primarily

towards the establishment of equitable international

economic relations and the removal of gaps between the

rich and the poor — between the North and the South. At

the same time, we should not allow any attempts to use

this development issue as a means to interfere in the

internal affairs of other countries by relating it to the so-

called protection of human rights.

Today, the non-aligned and other developing

countries are working hard to achieve South-South

cooperation and establish the South-South economic

order. The United Nations should accord priority to the

resolution of development issues and take concrete steps

to help establish fair and equitable international economic

relations that will assist the developing countries in their

development efforts and encourage South-South

cooperation.

At present, the national independence and

sovereignty of several countries are ruthlessly trampled

underfoot in different parts of the globe, and disputes and

conflicts, both religious and ethnic as well as region-wide,

which in some cases escalate into catastrophic wars,

continue unabated. It is, indeed, painful to see that peace

and security are tattered and people are falling victim to

disasters.

We consider that disputes among countries and

nations should be resolved peacefully through dialogue

and negotiations in conformity with the interests of the

peoples of the countries concerned.

Today, all the justice- and peace-loving countries

and nations in the world are dynamically struggling to

create a new independent world, overcoming all

challenges and difficulties, looking ahead to the twenty-

first century from the heights of the present vibrant era.

9

We actively support the just cause of the peoples of

the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations

(ASEAN) in favour of peace, stability and common

prosperity in their region, and the just cause of all other

Asian peoples in favour of building a new, independent and

prosperous Asia.

We support the Arab peoples in their struggle for a

fair and comprehensive resolution of the Middle East

question, including the Palestinian issue, and the African

peoples in their efforts for independent development of

their countries, overcoming all social and economic

difficulties.

We extend our active support and encouragement to

the Cuban people in their just cause in favour of firmly

safeguarding the country’s sovereignty and the gains of

socialism, and express our solidarity with the peoples of

Latin America in their endeavours towards peace and

prosperity in their region.

We support the people of the non-aligned and other

developing countries in their efforts to achieve social and

economic development and establish an equitable

international political and economic order.

The Government of the Democratic People’s Republic

of Korea and the Korean people extends, and will continue

to extend in the future, active support and solidarity to the

peoples of all the countries in the world in their efforts to

build a new society and independent world against all forms

of domination and subjugation.

I would like to take this opportunity to express our

deep thanks to the United Nations organs, specialized

agencies and non-governmental organizations, including the

United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs, and to

various Governments for the humanitarian steps they have

all taken in connection with the recent flood damage in our

country.

The foreign policy of the Government of the

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea remains unchanged.

The independence, peace and friendship advanced by the

great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung in his lifetime and now

being implemented by the respected supreme leader

Comrade Kim Jong Il are the cornerstone and principle of

the Government’s foreign policy, and its correctness and

vitality have already been powerfully demonstrated in actual

practice.

Independence is vital to the life of our Republic and

the key factor in its domestic and foreign policies. The

independent policy of the Democratic People’s Republic

of Korea not only guarantees the unique character and

stability of our own-style Socialist system, but also makes

a substantial contribution to peace and security in north-

east Asia and the rest of the world.

True to the lifetime teachings of the fatherly leader

Comrade Kim Il Sung, and under the wise leadership of

the respected supreme leader Comrade Kim Jong Il, the

Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of

Korea will continue as before its steadfast commitment to

independence, to uniting with the peoples of all the

countries of the world advocating independence, to

strengthening further ties of friendship and cooperation

with them, and to carrying through faithfully its duties in

the accomplishment of the common cause of humankind

for world peace and security.

The delegation of the Democratic People’s Republic

of Korea wishes to assure the Assembly that, together

with various other delegations, it will exert its sincere

efforts towards successful debates on the agenda items

placed before this session of the General Assembly.