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North Korean Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs in the UN General Assembly

By Park Hyun, Washington correspondent in New York

The 68th session of the UN General Assembly was held in New York from Sept. 24 to Oct. 1.

While the first half of keynote addresses by country delegates focused on Iran’s nuclear program and the civil war in Syria, the North Korean nuclear issue was a major topic of debate in the second half.

During his keynote address on Oct. 1, Pak Kil-yon, North Korean Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, made no mention of the North’s right to possess nuclear weapons. Typically, the North makes such claims in its UN addresses.

But controversy was sparked by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who took the podium as the final speaker.

Netanyahu said that the North had promised to give up nuclear weapons in 2005 (with the Sept. 19 joint statement) but then carried out a nuclear test just one year later. Iran is walking in the footsteps of North Korea, Netanyahu contended.

At this, North Korean deputy UN representative Ri Dong-il asked for a chance to respond. “There are unique circumstances surrounding North Korea’s decision to develop nuclear weapons,” Ri said. “The US deployed its first nuclear weapon to the Korean peninsula in 1957 and had brought in more than a 1,000 by the 1970s. In 2002, it declared North Korea to be part of the ‘axis of evil’ and threatened a preemptive nuclear strike.”

“The US and Korea have been carrying out joint nuclear exercises every year, and in March of this year these went to the brink of war,” Ri continued. “We had no alternative but to gain the nuclear weapons deterrent.”

Ri also came out in strong criticism of Israel. “As a country in possession of nuclear weapons, Israel has no right to talk about other countries,” Ri said. “Israel is a cancer that prevents stability in the Middle East.”

About 20 minutes later, the South Korean representative stepped forward to offer a rebuttal. Lim Sang-beom, a councilor who happened to be present, addressed the assembly on the direction of Oh Joon, Korea’s ambassador to the UN.

“There is something that I would like to make clear about the claims made by the North Korean representative,” Lim said, proceeding to rebut each of the North Korean arguments.

“The US and Korean joint military drills are defensive in nature, and we hold them every year to prepare for provocations from North Korea,” said Lim. “These drills have contributed to preventing war on the Korean Peninsula for decades.”

In regard to the North Korean nuclear issue, he pointed out that the UN Security Council has issued resolutions on several occasions asking North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.

After this, the North Korean representative took the floor again and said that the US-ROK military exercises are aggressive, accusing the South Korean representative of distorting the truth with his remarks. The North could not accept the UN Security Council resolutions, he said, because they were the result of the US’s hostile policies toward North Korea.

When the North Korean representative was finished, South Korea came forward for another rebuttal. The South emphasized that the tension on the Korean peninsula was the result of North Korea’s repeated tests of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles, that the UNSC resolutions had been adopted with the unanimous support of the member states, and that in addition to the UNSC, 80 other countries had issued a statement condemning the North for its third nuclear test.

While it is not uncommon for North and South Korea to snipe at each other in UN subcommittees, it is highly unusual for them to condemn each other not once but twice in the UN General Assembly, which is attended by each member state.

In addition to North and South Korea, five other countries requested the right to speak after the keynote addresses on that day.

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