He said that the principle of respect for sovereignty and equal sovereignty is the core of the UN Charter and the basic foundation of the international relations.

Key in the activities of the UN which regards the world peace and security as its fundamental mission is to observe the principle of respect for sovereignty and equal sovereignty, he said.

No peace and security of the world can be expected apart from this principle, he added, and went on:

The Special Committee on the Charter of the UN and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization must live up to the expectations of the international community and UN member nations by taking account of the present situation in its work, where the use of the armed forces on the basis of the logic of strength is getting undisguised and highhanded and arbitrary practices by a specified country that is lording it over the UN Charter is becoming serious.

The Korean Peninsula is the biggest hotspot where a war may break out any moment and this situation arouses serious concern of the international community.

This is entirely attributable to the wrong behavior of a specified country, permanent member of the UN Security Council, which abuses the body as a tool for meeting its political purposes.

In this regard, the DPRK delegation would like to call attention to the following issues:

First issue is that of the signboard of "UN Command" that has been abused by the U.S. forces in south Korea for decades.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Armistice Agreement concluded in 1953 and the 63rd year since the U.S. forces in south Korea put up the illegal signboard of the "UN Command".

Citing typical facts to prove the illegal and anachronistic nature of the "UN Command", the DPRK delegate said the "UN Command" in south Korea should be removed at once in line with the resolution of the 30th Session of UN General Assembly as it gives adverse effects to the authority of the UN.

The DPRK delegate noted:

Second one is the issue of the attitude taken by the UN Security Council to the legitimate satellite launch of the DPRK.

The DPRK's activities for space exploration are an entirely just exercise of its sovereignty as a party who signed the Outer Space Treaty. It is stipulated in Article 24 of the UN Charter that the primary mission of the UNSC is to protect world peace and maintain its security.

Article 1 of the Outer Space Treaty indicates that space shall be researched and used in the interests of all countries, and clarifies that it is a common wealth of humankind.

In the final analysis, there is no reason from legal point of view for the DPRK's space activities to become a target of sanctions of the UNSC.

It is an illogical nonsense and trick on the international community to assert that the DPRK poses a "threat to the international peace and security" because it used "ballistic missile" technology as the U.S. alleges.

Among UN member states the U.S. launched most of satellites including military satellites. It is also the U.S. which keeps most of nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles in the world and is very keen on establishing the worldwide missile defence system for preemptive nuclear attack.

It is in accordance with the U.S. logic to assert that the U.S. is the biggest threat to the world peace and security and it should be the first target of sanctions of the UNSC.

There were no less than 2,000 nuclear tests and at least 9,000 satellite launches in the world since the UN came into existence. But never has there been even a single resolution of its Security Council that banned nuclear test and satellite launch.

The U.S. which carried out the most nuclear tests and satellite launches in the world cooked up the UNSC's "resolution" that prohibited only the DPRK from conducting nuclear test and launching satellite. It is a violation of international law and height of double-standards.

The U.S. should no longer be allowed to seriously infringe upon the independent right of the DPRK to use the space for peaceful purposes nor should it be allowed to abuse the UNSC as a tool for executing its hostile policy towards the DPRK.

The U.S. should seriously respond to the just demand of the DPRK that it should select one alternative of opening the phases of detente and stability by respecting the DPRK's right to satellite launch or continuing to go along the wrong way as it does now by pushing the situation to the point of explosion being pursuant to its hostile policy towards the DPRK.

We would like to clarify once again that the recent third nuclear test was carried out as part of the practical countermeasures for defending the country's sovereignty and security to cope with the ruthless hostile act of the U.S. which wantonly infringed upon the DPRK's legitimate right to satellite launch for peaceful purposes.

The DPRK delegate said he is convinced that the Committee will pay due attention to taking necessary steps to make sure that all member states strictly abide by the principle of equal sovereignty, core of the UN Charter and basis of the international relations, as the essence of the situation created on the Korean Peninsula is a serious issue of whether the sovereignty of a UN member state is respected or violated.