nsnbc , – The Deputy Foreign Minister of North Korea (DPRK), Park Gilyeon, has delivered a benchmark speech at the UN General Assembly. The speech was so relevant, addressed such pertinent issues pertaining systemic problems with the United nations and the increasing, global risk for wars of aggression under the pretense of the United Nations most noble principles, that we have decided to publish the full text of speech. – Christof Lehmann, Editor, nsnbc international.
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Allow me, first of all, on behalf of the delegation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), to congratulate Mr. John William Ashe on your election as the president of the 68thSession of the UN General Assembly. I am convinced that your able leadership will bring this session to a success.
Mr. President,
The UN Millennium Summit held in the year 2000 advanced peace and security, sustainable development, protection and promotion of human rights, as the three key objectives of UN activities.
Ever since the inception of the United Nations, humankind has been aspiring to build a new peaceful world free from war and at the same time to achieve common prosperity and development based on cooperation among member states.
This aspiration, however, is yet far from coming true even after the change of a century and the passage of its first decade.
High-handedness and arbitrariness are getting ever more rampant in international relations. Infringement of sovereignty, interference into internal affairs and regime change continue to go unabated under the pretexts of “non-proliferation” and “human rights protection”, for which the UN organization is being abused.
Confrontation among forces of different interests, states and civilizations, and wars large and small, keep taking place in different parts of the world, severely damaging the credibility of the United Nations whose primary mission is to ensure peace and security.
These developments clearly demonstrate that sustainable development and real protection of human rights are beyond imagination as long as there is no peace and security ensured as stipulated in the UN Charter.
A specific state’s high-handedness and arbitrariness undermining peace and security should be rejected in international relations with a view to achieve genuine cooperation and development among countries, based on sovereign equality.
Unjust intervention, pressure and use of force, what is unfolding in Syriain the form of infringements of its sovereignty and territorial integrity further breaching peace and stability, should not be allowed in any case, and the USblockades against Cuba should be brought to an end at the earliest possible date.
It is the unanimous demand of the international society to completely eliminate all nuclear weapons and to build a nuclear weapon free world through nuclear disarmament.
As agreed upon at the high-level meeting on nuclear disarmament held during the current session on the initiative of the NAM, nuclear disarmament negotiations should commence without further delay to work on universal instruments legally codifying the negative security assurances and the prohibition of use of nuclear weapons, among others.
“Post-2015 Development Agenda; Setting the Stage” has been chosen as the theme of the current session and this fact highlights the importance of sustainable developmentfor world peace and common prosperity.
We are left with less time before the year 2015, the final year for attaining the Millennium Development Goals including poverty reduction in particular. However, to our regret, the international efforts in this regard have not produced due results.
In identifying and successfully attaining post-2015 goals for sustainable development, practical measures need to be taken to address such issues as establishing fair international economic relations, transferring environmentally sound technology to developing countries and strengthening financial support.
Despite international efforts for human rights protection and promotion, high-handedness and double standards are becoming ever more undisguised in the UN human rights fora, targeting developing countries selectively as before.
Politicization, selectivity and double standards should be put to an end in the UN human rights fora, and no one should be able to justify or allow the continued situation where the human rights situations of selected countries are either called into question or simply ignored in accordance with the political purpose and interests of the West and the western standard values.
The United Nations reform is becoming an issue that brooks no further delay for attaining the above mentioned major goals of UN activities in the new century,.
In addressing key international issues, the UN General Assembly should be empowered to have the final say as it represents the general will of the entire membership, and particularly, the UN Security Council resolutions affecting peace and security such as sanctions and use of force should be made effective only under the authority and approval of the UN General Assembly.
The instances of the UNSC being abused by a certain state as a tool of its strategic interests should never go unchallenged.
Under the manipulation of the United States, the forcible adoption last January of the unfair “sanctions resolution” was conducted by making an issue of our legitimate satellite launch for peaceful purposes, what was conducted as recognized by international law, and it represents a typical example of how and for what purpose the power of the UN Security Council is being abused.
The UN Security Council reform which is the key component of the UN reform should be undertaken on the basis of principles of ensuring accountability, transparency and impartiality in its activities and ensuring full representation of developing countries in its composition.
Mr. President,
Today in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the entire people are engaged in an all-out campaign to build a thriving socialist state in the nearest possible future under the wise leadership of the dear respected Marshal Kim Jong Un.
The dear respected Marshal Kim Jong Un, the supreme leader of our people gives continuous on-the-spot guidance across all parts of the country, giving right direction and innovative ways for speeding up the economic construction and improvement of people’s livelihood.
Practical measures are being taken one after another to revitalize the overall national economy, bringing about successes in the fields of economic development and betterment of people’s welfare.
Nothing is more precious than stable and peaceful environment for the DPRK Government and the Korean people who established the building of an economic power and the improvement of people’s livelihood as the general objective of the government.
Though our efforts for peaceful development are confronted with grave challenges, the Korean people will surely bring about earlier day of final victory by advancing with full confidence and optimism, united single-heartedly around the dear respected Marshal Kim Jong Un and under his wise leadership.
Mr. President,
60 years have passed since the end of the gunfire of fierce 3-year-long war and the signing of the Armistice Agreement in the Korean peninsula in the last century.
Yet, a mechanism that guarantees peace fails to be in place, as a result of which the unstable situation of neither war nor peace continues on the Korean peninsula.
With an aim of militarily dominating the northeast Asia with the Korean peninsula as a stepping stone, the United States, having designated the DPRK as its first attack target, beefs up its military presence in south Korea and its vicinity and on the other hand, stages a series of war exercises against the DPRK every year with massive builds up of hundreds of thousands of troops and modern military equipments, thus aggravating confrontation and tension without letup.
The “United Nations Command”, the outdated legacy of the Korean War, continues to serve the US military strategy by abusing the name of the United Nations.
The “UN Command”, which has nothing to do with the United Nations, is ceaselessly conducting military actions threatening the Korean peninsula and its surrounding area in the name of the UN under the baton of the US. This shows that the resolution adopted by the General Assembly at its 30thsession calling for dissolution of the “UN Command” remains simply a sheet of document and also signifies to what extent the credibility of the United Nations has been undermined.
The repeated vicious cycle of mounting tension on the Korean peninsula has its roots in the hostile policy of the US on the DPRK.
The United States designated the DPRK with different ideology and system as its enemy from the very first day of its foundation and has been refusing to recognize its sovereignty and imposing all sorts of sanctions, pressures and military threats on the DPRK for more than half a century.
The only way to ensure lasting peace on the Korean peninsula is to bring the US hostile policy to an end.
The United States should abolish its hostile policy by beginning from, among other things, respecting the sovereignty of the DPRK, replacing the Armistice Agreement with a peace mechanism dismantling the “UN Command” with no further delay and lifting all sanctions and military threats.
The DPRK remains consistent in its stand and effort to put an end to the tension on the Korean peninsula by peaceful means through dialogue and negotiations, and contribute to ensuring peace and security in the region.
For genuine peace and easing tension on the Korean peninsula, we are making every possible effort with maximum patience.
Reunifying the country is a long-cherished desire and the most pressing task of the Korean nation.
Entering the new century, the north-south summit meetings were held on two occasions with joyful enthusiasm of all the fellow countrymen, adopting the June 15 North-South Joint Declaration and October 4 Declaration and thus providing a milestone for reconciliation, collaboration and reunification between the north and south of Korea.
Thanks to the active and generous efforts of the DPRK, a window of opportunity for north-south relations improvement has been opening up after a long period of deadlock. However, outdated confrontational approach is coming up against the same fellow countrymen by the south Korean authorities, thus creating the danger of driving the relations back into destructive stage again.
As clarified by the June 15 Joint Declaration and October 4 Declaration, the only way to achieve peaceful reunification of the country and to open the way forward for the nation is to promote dialogue and cooperation between the north and south of Korea by joining hands in the spirit of “the Korean nation itself”.
We will work, hand in hand, with anyone who truly wants reunification, reconciliation and prosperity of the nation and strive for accomplishing the historic cause of national reunification by the concerted efforts of the nation under the banner of the June 15 Joint Declaration and October 4 Declaration.
Mr. President,
In conclusion the DPRK will continue to strengthen and develop friendly and cooperative relations with all the UN member states, place the situation of the Korean peninsula under stable management as a member of the international community and make a full exercise of its responsibility and role in ensuring world peace and common prosperity of the humankind, pursuant to its foreign policy of ideals; independence, peace and friendship.
Thank you.