The DPRK's delegate said this in a speech at a plenary meeting of the Geneva Disarmament Conference on March 10.

The issue of providing a guarantee for an unconditional non-use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states presents itself as an urgent one in view of the objective of the nuclear disarmament, he noted, and continued:

It is an escape from reality to pursue only non-proliferation, sidestepping the issue of providing a guarantee for an unconditional non-use of nukes.

The high-handed nuclear policy based on double standards reduces disarmament agreements including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to mere scraps of papers and drives the world into a nuclear arms race at present.

It is unjustifiable for some countries to blame only those countries incurring their displeasure for conducting nuclear activities for peaceful purposes, while evading their commitments to nuclear disarmament.

Using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is not a privilege granted to specified countries only. It is a legitimate right of sovereign states.

The reality proves that the existing commitment to giving a guarantee for non-use and safety of nukes alone can never help solve the problem.

It is our view that it is most urgent, therefore, to set up a mechanism under international law totally banning the threat with nukes and their use.

It is our view that to this end it is necessary to institute an international convention banning the use of nukes which calls for stipulating it as a legal duty of nuclear weapons states to neither threaten with nukes nor use them under any circumstances and making a strict verification of its observance.

All the nuclear weapons states should roll back nuclear policies based on preemptive use of nukes, unconditionally commit themselves not to use nukes first as demanded by the non-nuclear states and respond to the negotiations for working out the international convention on this issue as early as possible.

We will always sincerely fulfill our duty before the international community as a responsible nuclear weapons state.