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.