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Delivering a speech at the Assembly’s annual high-level debate, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son Gyong painted a grim picture of global problems, pointing to rising distrust, conflict, climate-related disasters and socioeconomic pressures.
He argued that the UN was failing to fulfill its responsibilities due to “arbitrary attitudes and unilateralism” by a small number of countries and called for greater compliance with the goals and principles of the UN. UN Charter.
Kim said respect for a country’s sovereignty, security interests and development rights is crucial to overcoming the current crisis.
‘No turning back’
Much of his speech focused on rising military tensions in Northeast Asia, particularly in and around the Korean Peninsula.
Kim accused the United States and its allies of increasing military pressure on his country through drills and military deployments, highlighting the US-Japan-Republic of Korea (ROK) security partnership.
He also strongly criticized Japan’s moves to expand its military capabilities, arguing that such actions contributed to instability in the region.
Against this backdrop, Kim views the DPRK’s nuclear arsenal as a defensive necessity and praised the country’s military deterrence efforts in preventing armed conflict.
“The DPRK’s nuclear deterrent is an absolute force and an irresistible force designed, from A to Z, to safeguard sovereignty, security and peace against external aggression and threats,” he said.
He stressed that his country’s nuclear status had been established “physically and legally” and “cannot be revoked under any circumstances or by any means”.
The DPRK, he added, would continue to strengthen its ability to counter what it considers external threats while acting, in his words, as a “responsible nuclear weapons state.”
Independence and development
Kim also highlighted his government’s policy of domestic self-reliance, saying that his country has achieved economic progress and development despite the COVID-19 pandemic, extreme weather, geopolitical confrontation and economic difficulties.
He said the five-year economic development plan had been successfully completed and pointed to new construction projects and policies aimed at improving living conditions.
Despite what he described as efforts by outside forces to hinder the DPRK’s development, the country will continue to achieve its goals through its own efforts, he said.
UN ‘for all’
Turning to the future of the United Nations, Kim called for reforms aimed at improving what he described as the Organization’s impartiality and ensuring more equal representation of Member States.
“It is time for the UN to reform,” he said, arguing that changes should be aimed at democratizing the Organization and not centered on the interests of particular countries.
He said the growth of multilateralism and an increasingly multipolar world reflected increasing demands for greater international equality.
Kim also cited climate change and the risks accompanying the rapid development of artificial intelligence and other new technologies as challenges that require international collective action.
Marking 35 years since the DPRK joined the UN, he concluded by pledging that his country would continue to work through the Organization to promote what it considers international justice, peace and security, while defending its sovereignty, security interests and right to development.
