YouSaid · the spoken record

Ri Su Yong

lines on the record: 36
first: 2014-09-24
most recent: 2015-09-24
sittings or episodes: 2
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is strongly convinced that a peace treaty should replace the Korean Armistice Agreement as a means of ensuring peace and security on the Korean peninsula and of redressing the abnormal relations between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the United Nations. We also believe that that would help the United Nations to remain true to its founding ideals and the purposes and principles of the Charter. For its part, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea pledges to make sincere and energetic efforts to that end.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“The Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is ready to hold a constructive dialogue to prevent war and conflicts on the Korean peninsula, once the United States agrees to replace the Korean Armistice Agreement with a peace treaty and refrains from making accusations of provocation in the mass media. If the United States of America displays courage in making a policy change, the security environment on the Korean peninsula will improve dramatically and the security concerns of the United States of America will eventually be addressed. That is the best option and the best solution we can offer in this forum as we look back over the past 70 years and look forward to the road ahead.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“The safeguarding of peace on the Korean peninsula requires North Korea and South Korea to address certain issues. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the United States of America also have issues to address. The Korean Armistice Agreement was signed in 1953 between the Korean People’s Army and the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army on one side and the so-called United Nations forces on the other. With all the other foreign troops withdrawn, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the United States of America are the only two parties in charge of the armed forces currently deployed on the Korean peninsula. The United States of America has wartime operational control of the South Korean army and also administers the Korean Armistice Agreement. It is high time for the United States to step forward and sign a peace treaty.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“For the Korean Armistice Agreement has no provision regarding such aggressive and provocative large-scale war exercises. Replacing the Korean Armistice Agreement with a 15-29876 9/26 A/70/PV.24 01/10/2015 peace treaty first and foremost requires the United States of America to make a bold decision. Although currently intra-Korean relations have been defused thanks to a great deal of effort, the atmosphere does not promise to be as durable as one would want. For the situation on the Korean peninsula is such that even a minor provocative act can aggravate tensions and freeze relations in an instant. Since the experience of the August incident that made North-East Asia and the entire world watch with bated breath, it has been clear that replacing the Korean Armistice Agreement with a peace treaty without further delay is crucial.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“That establishes an equation in which the United Nations equals the United States of America, since the United Nations force on the Korean peninsula is made up of United States troops. The United Nations should uphold the original purposes and principles of the Charter and address its abnormal relations with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, both in the interest of international peace and security and for the welfare and prosperity of the Korean nation. The August incident clearly showed the fragility of the current peace on the Korean peninsula, which is due to the abnormal relationship with the United Nations. A rational, in-depth analysis of that incident leads to the conclusion that the Korean Armistice Agreement, as written, can no longer maintain peace on the Korean peninsula.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Other extremely strange phenomena have no logical explanation. Over 20 years have passed since the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea joined the United Nations. But in Panmunjom, the flags of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the United Nations are hoisted opposite each other. In other words, the United Nations is in a state of war against one of its Member States and their guns are levelled against each other. Successive United Nations Secretaries-General have stated that the United Nations Command mechanism was not under the control of the United Nations, and that only the Security Council could decide to dismantle it. In the long term, that means that as long as the United States is a permanent member of the Security Council with the right of veto, the United Nations Command cannot be dismantled.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“In exercising its right as a State Member of the United Nations, a right enshrined in the Charter, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea brought to the attention of the Security Council the matter of the aggressive and provocative large-scale joint military exercises of the United States of America and South Korea. We requested the Council to place the matter on its agenda, as the military exercises constitute a serious threat to international peace and security. We also referred the August incident to the Security Council. However, every time the Security Council has remained silent on this issue. What measure can the United Nations take when the so-called United Nations Commander himself commands the large-scale war exercises that create a vicious cycle of heightened tension?”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Moreover, the fact that the Security Council, which is endowed with greater responsibility and power than any other body of the Organization, has become so reckless and is made a mockery of by an individual Power is a twenty-first century tragedy. Late last August, the situation on the Korean peninsula moved once again towards the brink of war. In this case, the situation was triggered by a minor incident, whose cause remains unknown. However, it is apparent that such incidents occur every time that a large-scale joint military exercise conducted by the United States of America and South Korea reaches its zenith.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“The Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is steadfast in its resolve to uphold its dignity and rights and will continue to do so robustly and persistently by using all the defensive measures at its disposal to counter the unjust actions aimed at thwarting its peaceful launch of a satellite. The Charter of the United Nations provides that the Security Council acts in accordance with the principles of justice and international law. However, the United Nations is now in a state of chaos, and it is difficult to determine whether it is the Charter or some Security Council resolution that takes precedence.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“In 2014, the United States launched yet another anti-Democratic People’s Republic of Korea smear campaign in the General Assembly and the Security Council on the basis of the detailed findings of the commission of inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (see A/HRC/25/CRP.1), a report that relied on fabricated evidence, thereby demonstrating that the United Nations is still manipulated by the United States. Our development of outer space technology for peaceful purposes is within our legitimate rights as a sovereign State. Our nuclear testing is a defensive measure to counter the hostile policy and nuclear threat of the United State of America.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Today, a body of international law exists that stipulates that the use of outer space is the sovereign right of every country. More than 10 countries have launched satellites. However, the Security Council passed a resolution prohibiting 8/26 15-29876 01/10/2015 A/70/PV.24 the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea alone from launching satellites. Moreover, nine countries have already developed and conducted over 2,000 nuclear tests in total. But again, the Security Council adopted resolutions prohibiting the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea from conducting nuclear tests, which it did only three times.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Like all the other resolutions that the United States voted against, this resolution also was not implemented. At present, nearly 40,000 United States troops, a massive number, are stationed in South Korea—more than in any other foreign country. The Commander of the United States Forces Command in South Korea is also the United Nations Commander and so wears two hats. The so-called United Nations Commander commands the large-scale nuclear war exercises held several times a year by the United States of America and South Korea and has done so during the past seven decades. Even in the twenty-first century, the Security Council continues to commit arbitrary acts against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, in flagrant violation of justice and international law.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“For the past seven decades — from its inception to today — the United Nations has been used as a tool to violate the sovereignty, dignity, peace and security of our nation. It was none other than the United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea that granted so- called legitimacy to the manoeuvres of the United States, which had brought about the division of our nation by setting up a separate Government in South Korea in 1948. It was also in the name of the United Nations forces that the troops of the United States and 15 other satellite countries joined the Korean War in 1950. At its thirtieth session, in 1975, the General Assembly adopted resolution 3390 B (XXX), on the subject of dissolving the United Nations Command and withdrawing foreign troops from South Korea.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Furthermore, the United Nations will be degraded to the point of becoming a haven in which the forces bent on disrupting and destroying peace and security camouflage their designs. This is the main lesson we have learned as we look back on the 70 years of the United Nations. Reflected on every page of the annals of the United Nations is the history of our national division, stained with the misfortunes and pains that our people have suffered over the past seven decades. The same year the United Nations was founded, our nation was liberated from Japanese colonial rule and divided into the north and the south by a foreign force. The same foreign force now sits on the Security Council as a permanent member State.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“The result is that world peace and security are under constant threat and humankind has grown accustomed to having to live, against its will, with the smoky clouds of war overhead. This is the biggest failure overshadowing the 70-year history of the United Nations, as well as the greatest challenge we are facing on our road ahead. Unless the sovereign equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations is fully translated into reality, the ongoing practice of domination, inequality and unfairness cannot be eradicated at the United Nations. Until international relations are democratized, the United Nations will not be able to fulfil its mission to safeguard international peace and security.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“It is not the peace of a slave, requiring subservience to the master; it is a peace of dignity, a peace befitting an independent human being. Such peace remains only a dream for humankind. The world has come a long way and tremendous changes have taken place. However, the United Nations system and its peacekeeping and security operations are not so very different from the old ones in the days when it was founded. The arbitrariness and undemocratic practices of the Security Council have not been redressed. Consequently, the United Nations, a hallowed international Organization, is constantly being abused and monopolized as a forum for confrontation by a few Powers.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“That should be considered a victory for the noble ideal of peace over war, which was an important source of inspiration leading to the founding of the United Nations. Since the start of the new millennium, the percentage of the world population living under the poverty line has been reduced by half. This amounts to a triumph for the ideal of cooperation for development, which, along with peace, represents one of the two main pillars of the United Nations. Yet the world has not been at peace over the past 70 years, nor has humankind lived in comfort. The world has undergone hundreds of wars and armed conflicts, big and small, some of which drove us to the brink of a nuclear disaster. The peace sought by humankind is not fragile in nature, like a thin layer of ice, but rather it is as firm, durable and permanent as a rock.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“I would like to congratulate Mr. Mogens Lykketoft on his election as President of the General Assembly at this historic seventieth session. I hope that his able stewardship will lead this session, under the theme “The United Nations at 70: the road ahead for peace, security and human rights”, to a successful outcome. We are now at a critical point in time in which we are reflecting on the 70 years of the United Nations and defining the road ahead. First and foremost, it is important to learn lessons from both the successes and the failures of the United Nations over the past 70 years. It is fortunate that 15-29876 7/26 A/70/PV.24 01/10/2015 humankind has evaded a third world war during this time.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“As in the past, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea will fulfil its responsibilities and discharge its role as an independent Member State by steadfastly adhering to these ideals in United Nations activities.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“It should therefore refrain from prattling and dreaming about the unrealistic and fictitious proposal for reunification copied from the formula of other countries. I should like to assure members that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea will constructively participate in delivering on the post-2015 development agenda at the current session and thus make an active contribution to the work for the successful adoption of the development agenda next year on the occasion of the seventieth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. Independence, peace and friendship are the foreign policy ideals of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“The reunification of the fatherland is the supreme desire of the entire Korean nation. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea maintains that national reunification should be achieved not through a confrontation of systems but by a confederation formula whereby two systems coexist in a single country. It is the only way to prevent war and safeguard peace. The Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is sincerely striving by both word and deed to develop inter-Korean relations and to orient them towards reunification through confederation. As South Korea has relinquished its military prerogatives to the United States in their entirety, it has no idea how many weapons of mass destruction of various kinds — capable of destroying the Korean nation more than hundreds of times over — are now deployed and hidden on its own soil.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“It is all the more preposterous that the United States should talk about a human rights dialogue when it adamantly prevents the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea — the party directly involved — from participating in the meeting on the latter’s own human rights situation. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is always open to dialogue and cooperation in the case of genuine human rights issues that are devoid of any form of political motivation or hypocrisy. The Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is willing to promote human rights dialogue and cooperation on an equal footing with other countries that are not hostile to it. It is also willing to facilitate technical cooperation, contact and communication with the United Nations and other international organizations in the human rights field.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“The nuclear issue will be resolved if and when the substance of the threat to our sovereignty and right to life is removed through the termination of the hostile policy of the United States towards the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Politicization, selectivity and double standards are out of place when dealing with human rights issues. The abuse of human rights for political purposes is in itself the biggest human rights violation. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is firmly opposed to all attempts and actions to force regime change on specific countries by alleging abuse of human rights. The United States does not recognize the national sovereignty that safeguards the human rights of our people. That being the case, it is hypocritical of it to find fault with our human rights issues.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea maintains that all problems pertaining to international relations should be resolved not by high-handedness and arbitrariness, but in strict accordance with the principles of sovereign equality enshrined in the United Nations Charter. The nuclear issue is a matter of the sovereignty and the right to exist of a Member State and must take precedence over peace and security. The hostile policy, nuclear threat and stifling strategy pursued by the United States for more than half a century inevitably prompted the decision of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to become a nuclear-weapon State. The nuclear deterrent of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is neither intended to threaten or attack others, nor a bargaining chip to be exchanged for something else.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“The reform of the Security Council would, in essence, democratize the United Nations and international relations. The United Nations is not a monarchy and the Security Council is not a senate. The reform of the Security Council will not be possible unless its members decide in good faith to give up their prerogatives in the interests of democracy. Given the changing times and the demands of the majority of Member States, the permanent member that is most vociferous about the export of democracy should reflect on whether or not its preaching is just hypocrisy. Should the Security Council fail to reform itself and remain out of step with the times, Member States may well opt for a United Nations without such an anachronistic and undemocratic Council.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Only then did the world come to realize that it had heard the big lie of the century. However, because the big lie had come from a permanent member, the Security Council kept silent again. As a result, the bloodshed continues even today, after 11 years. The Security Council should not be abused as a tool to justify high-handedness and arbitrariness. The United Nations Charter stipulates that the Security Council should act in conformity with the principles of justice and international law. The Security Council has no authority to adopt a resolution that prohibits the peaceful launch of a satellite by a Member State, as that is in contravention of international law, in particular the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Likewise, the Security Council simply ignores the killing of Palestinian civilians by Israel under the patronage of a permanent member, yet selectively takes issue with the actions of the Syrian Government in defence of the sovereignty and stability of its country. This unjust practice cannot be tolerated. In particular, no act should be allowed to encroach on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria under the guise of counter-terrorism. The Security Council should no longer serve as a forum for the spreading of lies. Eleven years ago, we heard with our own ears the accusation made at a Security Council meeting by a permanent member that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq (see S/PV.4701). A military invasion followed, and tragic bloodshed resulted.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“The Council’s current structure and method of work have long been out of date, as confirmed by the expressed general will of Member States reflected in resolution 47/62, adopted in 1992. The Security Council should no longer be an exhibition showcase for the extreme manifestation of the double standard. We must put an end to the unjust practice whereby the military exercises waged by a permanent member of the Council are covered up with no regard to their serious threat to peace and security, whereas those conducted by a Member State in response are called into question, although they are inevitable and self-defensive in nature.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Accordingly, a peaceful environment is vital in allowing us to lead the recently improving trend of the national economy to sustainable development. A peaceful environment and the reduction of tensions are more precious to us now than at any time. The tense situation on the Korean peninsula does not help us. On the contrary, it presents a serious obstacle to our efforts to achieve economic development and an improved living standard. War exercises focused on landing, long-range nuclear bombing and commando operations aimed at occupying the capital city of another country can never be viewed as defensive. The claim that they are annual in nature is just a veiled attempt to succeed in a surprise attack after creating chronic immunity to them. The reform of the Security Council should no longer be delayed.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“As the joint military exercises were led by one of its permanent members, the Council was bound to close its eyes, block its ears and shut its mouth, no matter how enormous in scale, aggressive in purpose and dangerous in nature they were. Even in the Cold War period, measures were in place between the East and the West to restrict the number of military exercises in which more than 40,000 troops took part. We are obliged to ask why such war exercises, with the participation of more than 500,000 troops at a time, are needed annually only on the Korean peninsula, nearly a quarter of a century after the Cold War ended. At present, the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has set economic construction and improvement of the people’s living standards as its major task.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“It started with the United States-South Korea joint military exercises aimed at occupying the capital city of Pyongyang of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. In January, the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea made a proposal to stop hostile military acts on the Korean peninsula, but provocative joint military exercises against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea were forcibly conducted in March, April and August. The Government of the Democratic People’s Republic officially referred to the Security Council the issue of suspending such war exercises, which seriously endanger the peace and security of the Korean peninsula and the region as a whole. However, the Council turned its back.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“As stipulated in the Charter, Member States entrusted the Security Council with the maintenance of international peace and security as its first and foremost responsibility. Present reality shows that in lieu of the Security Council — which is still mired in the paralysis of the Cold War — a permanent member seeks to act as the military police of the world through military blocs or bilateral military alliances that have nothing to do with the United Nations. The anachronistic stereotypes and prejudices of the Security Council find their most extreme expression in the prevailing situation on the Korean peninsula. The world remembers that the situation on the Korean peninsula reached the touch-and-go brink of war last year.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“However, acts of high-handedness and arbitrariness — veiled under various disguises such as democracy, humanitarian crises, counter-terrorism, human rights protection and non-proliferation — are committed brazenly in the form of sanctions, blockade, military threat and armed intervention. That is the stern reality we witness today. Proceeding from its consistent position of opposing interference and sanctions in all their manifestations against sovereign States, our delegation holds that the unilateral economic, trade and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba should be immediately dismantled. With respect to the issue of enhancing the central role of the United Nations, we see its functions and role regarding peace and security lagging far behind others.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“We have observed a great leap in our fishing industry and livestock farming, as well as a blooming new twenty- first century civilization in the living environment and cultural and welfare spheres for future generations and the working masses. The climate change Summit held just a few days ago was a successful gathering that constituted part of the active measures being taken across the United Nations system to ensure the survival of humankind and sustainable development by protecting the global ecosystem and addressing climate change. The United Nations and international relations should be democratized further. The principle of sovereign equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations is exactly same as the principle of respect for sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“It has been a particularly difficult time for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. However, we too have overcome severe hardships. Despite an unprecedentedly persistent economic blockade, military threat and political obstruction, we have firmly safeguarded national dignity, effectively deterred war and put the stagnant economy on an upward track under the leadership of the great General Kim Jong Il. Today we have at last secured a reliable springboard to leap into a powerful nation, following the guidance of respected Marshal Kim Jong Un. In the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea today, a grand construction boom is in full swing, and modern factories and enterprises befitting the era of the knowledge economy are being built and founded at record-breaking speed in many parts of the country.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“On behalf of the delegation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, I should first like to congratulate His Excellency Mr. Sam Kahamba Kutesa on his election as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea fully endorses the main theme of this session, “Delivering on and implementing a transformative post-2015 development agenda”. Development is one of the core missions of the United Nations. With peace, it constitutes one of the two pillars for the sustainable development of humankind. During the first 15 years of the new millennium, the world has seen the poverty rate reduced by half. It is proof of success, illustrating the correctness of the Millennium Development Goals, adopted at the Millennium Summit, with the elimination of poverty as the main target.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)