Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Head of DPRK Delegation Reiterates DPRK's Stand on Denuclearization of Korea

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK via Korea News Service (KNS)

   Pyongyang, September 29 (KCNA) -- The DPRK government maintains its consistent position to resolve the issue of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula peacefully. Choe Su Hon, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs who is leading the DPRK delegation, declared this at the plenary session of the 61st General Assembly of the United Nations on Sept. 26. Referring to the necessity and justice of the Songun policy of Kim Jong Il, he said that the Songun policy provides a sure guarantee for safeguarding the sovereignty and security of the country and ensuring peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and the rest of the region, given the evermore undisguised U.S. hostile policy toward the DPRK.
    He went on to say:
    The DPRK's possession of powerful deterrent solely meant for self-defense is in full line with the interests of the regional countries in peace and security and peaceful environment.
    As well known to the world, the important points stipulated in the Joint Statement adopted at the Six-Party Talks on September 19, 2005 are the commitment made by the DPRK to abandon its nuclear program and the U.S. commitment to co-exist with the former in peace.
    The DPRK remains committed to implementing all the agreed provisions of the Joint Statement on an equal footing.
    However, the U.S., soon after the announcement of the Joint Statement, lost no time to impose financial sanctions upon the DPRK, a dialogue partner, eventually scrapping the already-agreed itinerary for the following rounds of the talks and creating the present impasse.
    All these facts clearly indicate that the U.S. is not in favor of both the Six-Party Talks and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
    Turning to the issue of the expansion of permanent membership of the UN Security Council, he stated that the UN member countries should not allow under any circumstances such a country as Japan to sit on the council as it is a war criminal which invaded Asian countries and massacred innocent civilians and, worse still, has worked hard to distort its history of aggression, instead of settling it.
    The government of the DPRK will continue in the future, too, to develop the relations of friendship and cooperation with all member states that respect its sovereignty in accordance with the idea of its foreign policy: independence, peace and friendship and make a positive contribution to the efforts of the international community to achieve world peace and security and sustainable development, he concluded.