North Korea, 2006

Allow me first, on behalf

of my delegation, to congratulate Ms. Haya Rashed

Al-Khalifa on her election as President and to express

my conviction that the session will be successful under

her able leadership.

The desire of humankind for a peaceful and

prosperous world in the new century is still faced with

grave challenges. The unilateralism and high-handed

acts of the super-Power are becoming so reckless as to

trample on the principles of respect for the sovereign

equality of all States, the fundamental basis of the

United Nations Charter, thereby arousing international

society’s serious concern. Worse still are the invasions

of sovereign States, either openly committed or

disregarded, and even fanned under the pretext of non-

proliferation and anti-terrorism, giving rise to the

massacre of innocent people and the destruction of

international peace and security.

The threats and high-handed acts of the super-

Power are becoming more and more obvious, with the

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as their target.

The United States adventurous military manoeuvres,

such as military exercises and an economic blockade of

the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, continue

to be tolerated, while the routine missile test-firings of

our army for self-defence have been condemned as a

threat to international peace and security. Such a reality

is a serious lesson to us all that a country with

powerful strength, a just deterrent, is capable of

safeguarding the dignity and sovereignty of a nation by

itself.

Herein lies the necessity and justness of the

Songun policy of General Kim Jong Il, the respected

leader of our people. The Songun policy is a sure

guarantee of the ability of the Democratic People’s

Republic of Korea to safeguard its sovereignty and

security and ensure peace and stability on the Korean

peninsula, and in the region as a whole, in the face of

the ever-hardening, hostile policy of the United States

towards it. The Democratic People’s Republic of

Korea’s possession of deterrent power, solely for self-

defence, is also fully in line with the interest of the

countries of the region in peace and security and a

peaceful environment.

As is well known, the Korean people have

suffered a tragic history; after the nearly half-century-

long tyrannical military occupation by Japan they have

been living in a state of war with the United States for

60 years. Against this background, the Korean people

aspire for peace more than any other country. Today

there persist on the Korean peninsula touch-and-go

critical tension and confrontation, rather than durable

peace and security. The source is none other than the

vicious, hostile policy of the United States towards the

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula is not

exceptional either, as it originates from United States

nuclear threats. The United States policy towards the

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has gone

beyond mere hostility, going so far as to pose nuclear

threats, even by designating it part of an “axis of evil”

and the target of pre-emptive strikes, thus driving the

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to inevitably

possess a nuclear deterrent. The Government of the

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea maintains its

consistent position of seeking to resolve the issue of

denuclearizing the Korean peninsula peacefully

through dialogue and negotiation.

As the world knows well, the core elements

stipulated in the Joint Statement of 19 September 2005,

adopted at the six-party talks, are the respective

commitments of the Democratic People’s Republic of

Korea and the United States to abandon its nuclear

programme and to live in peaceful coexistence. As for

the Joint Statement, the Democratic People’s Republic

of Korea remains committed to implementing all its

agreed provisions on an equal footing. The Democratic

People’s Republic of Korea is sure to get greater

benefit from implementation of the agreed provisions

of the talks. That is why it is willing, more than any

other country, to hold the talks. However, the United

States, soon after the announcement of that Joint

Statement, wasted no time in imposing financial

sanctions upon the Democratic People’s Republic of

Korea, a dialogue partner, eventually scrapping the

27 06-53609

already agreed itinerary for the following rounds of the

Talks and creating the present impasse.

In view of these facts, it is crystal clear that the

United States is not in favour of the six-party talks and

the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. If there

is anything that the United States does favour, it is

aggravated tension on the Korean peninsula, to be used

as a pretext to reinforce its military forces in the north-

east Asian region. By doing so, the United States aims

to strengthen its armed forces in the region and thus

contain the ever-growing, strong Democratic People’s

Republic of Korea and neighbouring countries within

its world supremacy strategy. That is the real intention

of the United States.

It is quite preposterous that the Democratic

People’s Republic of Korea, under the groundless

United States sanctions, takes part in the Talks to

discuss its own nuclear abandonment. That is the

matter of principle on which even the slightest

concession cannot be tolerated. I take this opportunity

to express my deep gratitude to Member States of the

United Nations for their continued support for and

encouragement of the Democratic People’s Republic of

Korea in its efforts to achieve a peaceful resolution of

the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula.

As for Korea’s reunification, it is the supreme

aspiration of our nation to realize it at the earliest

possible date as a prerequisite to ensuring lasting peace

and security on the Korean peninsula. The North-South

Joint Declaration of 15 June 2000 is a declaration on

realizing independence and peaceful reunification by

the Korean nation itself, rejecting foreign interference.

Regrettably, however, on 21 September the South

Korean Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade made

distorted remarks about the root causes of the tension

in the Korean peninsula, without saying a single word

about implementation of the North-South Joint

Declaration of 15 June 2000. That causes us

consternation.

It is already well known that the major factors

undermining peace and stability and aggravating

tension in the Korean peninsula are the United States

military presence in South Korea; its doctrine of pre-

emptive nuclear strike against the Democratic People’s

Republic of Korea; incessant large-scale joint United

States and South Korea military exercises; the mass

delivery to South Korea of all sorts of military

equipment, including weapons of mass destruction; and

aerial reconnaissance carried out by the United States a

hundred-odd times every month.

The North-South Joint Declaration of 15 June has

not been smoothly implemented so far, because of the

persistent manoeuvres of the United States, which

dislikes improved inter-Korean relations, and because

of the existence in South Korea of such legal

mechanisms as the national security law stipulating

fellow countrymen as enemies and denying even basic

human rights, which is against the ideals of “By our

nation itself”, the core of the Joint Declaration. Those

are undeniable facts.

By upholding the banner of the North-South Joint

Declaration, and under the ideals of “By our nation

itself”, the Government of our Republic will surely

achieve national reunification by firmly realizing

cooperation in the three areas of national

independence, peace against war, and patriotism for

reunification.

For the United Nations to fulfil its mission for the

maintenance of international peace and security,

practical measures should be taken to reject

unilateralism and high-handed acts that block the

establishment of equitable and just international

relations. Furthermore, the United Nations should be

democratized so that all international issues are

resolved in conformity with the common interests of

Member States.

In this regard, we are of the view that one of the

reasonable ways to effect that is to hand over from the

Security Council to the General Assembly the power to

pass resolutions on issues directly linked to

international peace and security, such as the use of

force. It is also imperative to ensure that the Security

Council, responsible for international peace and

security, strictly observe the principle of fairness in its

activities. It should be accountable to the General

Assembly by making a real contribution to

international peace and security, not a means for

certain countries to legalize their strategic interests.

The fact that the Security Council remains

indifferent to the infringement of sovereignty and the

massacre of civilians in Arab territories — such as the

United States invasion of Iraq and Israel’s aggression

in Lebanon — is a typical example of the

irresponsibility, unfairness and double standards in its

activities. The reform of the Security Council now

under consideration should focus on ensuring fairness

06-53609 28

in its activities, first and foremost, and ensure that the

non-aligned and developing countries, which make up

the overwhelming majority of Member States, are fully

represented.

With regard to expansion of the permanent

membership of the Council, a country like Japan, the

war criminal which invaded Asian countries and

massacred innocent people, but which has been

distorting its aggressive history instead of liquidating

it, should never be allowed to become a permanent

member.

The Government of the Democratic People’s

Republic of Korea will continue to develop relations of

friendship and cooperation with all Member States that

respect its sovereignty, in accordance with the ideals of

its foreign policy — independence, peace and

friendship — and will make an active contribution to

the efforts of international society to achieve world

peace and security and sustainable development.