North Korea Chairs UN Conference on Disarmament
Following the rotation of the Presidency among the members of the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Ambassador Tae Song Han of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea took over as President on 2 June 2022.
Around 50 countries voiced their outrage that the nuclear-armed North Korea is being tasked with chairing the worldās most foremost multilateral disarmament forum for the three weeks.
Australia on behalf of a group of countries, Germany on behalf of the Group of Seven (G-7), France on behalf of the European Union and Japan all expressed deep concern about the repeated launching by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea of ballistic missiles, as well as its continued advancement of weapons of mass destruction and its nuclear weapons testing programme. A number of other countries also spoke, for exampleNew Zealand urged the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to return to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to implement its safeguards and obligations under the International Atomic Energy Agency, and to join the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
In response, Ambassador Han said that no State had the right to criticise or intervene or interfere in the national defence policy of other States.
Speaking in his national capacity, Ambassador Han said that the negative statements made by certain delegations raised questions about their sincerity and desire to contribute to the work of the forum. There was no reason why the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea could not develop its national defence capabilities. There was no need to respond to the remarks of these States as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea had made its position clear on several occasions.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was still at war with the United States. The Korean War that began in the 1950s had not ended. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was under the threat of nuclear attack from the United States, and was conducting testing as part of its plan to strengthen national capabilities so as to protect the State from the United States. The tests posed no threat to neighbouring countries. Oppression could not solve problems. When a State was invaded, no other State would defend it. National policy was decided by the will of the people. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea knew that what it was doing was correct, and would continue to strengthen its defence capabilities as long as the United States posed a threat. Nothing had changed in the Democratic People’s Republic of Koreaās strategy, and everything was fine and normal.
The United States said it remained committed to a diplomatic solution, and expressed hope that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea would participate in diplomatic discussions toward achieving peace.