Press Statement of the Permanent Mission of the Democratic

People's Republic of Korea to the United Nations

New York, 1 May 2015

The Permanent Mission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea(DPRK) to the United Nations issues the following Press Statement with regard to the “International Symposium on Human Rights Violations Including Abductions by North Korea” to be hosted by Japan on 5 May 2015 in New York.

Japan has been deliberately escalating “human rights” campaign against the DPRK proceeding from its own heinous political purpose while taking sides with the US hostile policy against the DPRK.

It engaged in sponsoring and forcibly adopting the anti-DPRK human rights resolutions in the 69th session of the UN General Assembly last year and in the 28th session of UN Human Rights Council this year. It also has been holding various symposiums in an attempt to deceive the people of the world by drawing attention to the so-called “abduction” and “human rights” issues of the DPRK.

As for the “abduction issue”, it has already been completely resolved long time ago with the return of all survivors and families of the Japanese abductees and the presentation of relevant evidence materials regarding those who had died.

Notwithstanding this previous position, we expressed our willingness to solve ultimately all pending issues relating to the victims of abduction as well as those Japanese people who had lived in the DPRK by making a comprehensive and overall investigation, at the DPRK-Japan Stockholm talk in May 2014. We have been carrying out the Agreement in good faith in conformity with the principle of “Action to Action”.

On the contrary, Japanese government has abandoned the Agreement and tries to globalize the “human rights” issue with its own ulterior political purpose.

On the occasion of 70th anniversary of the foundation of the United Nations this year, Japan has embarked on the operation to completely veil its past crimes against humanity including the sexual slavery by Japanese imperial army, which required the Japanese authorities to invent strategy to mislead and deceive the public opinion to convince the world.

The recent remarks made by the Japanese authorities prove the above fact. They deny in vicious manner the expressions of recognition of the Japanese past anti-humanity crime and apology thereof.

Abe who just visited the United States again rubbed salt with the life-long bitter wounds of the victims of sexual slavery by labeling them as victims of “human trafficking.”

Furthermore, they have recently committed unprecedented encroachment on the state sovereignty of the DPRK by forcibly searching the houses of the leading officials of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan who are deputies to the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK.

Meanwhile, Japan, the defeated and enemy country, is making desperate efforts to become a permanent member state of the UN Security Council.

All the acts perpetrated by the Japanese authorities behind the “human rights” issue of the DPRK in the forefront are based on their vicious aims to erase and bury the Japanese past crimes against humanity at any cost.

Against this backdrop, the Permanent Mission of the DPRK to the United Nations strongly denounces and rejects the so-called “Symposium” to be hosted by Japan.

The more the hostile forces including Japan become desperate in their attempt to smear the dignity of our people and sabotage our system under the disguise of “human rights issues”, the stronger our socialist system will grow and the dignity of our people become more glorious by the Songun policy coupled with the line of promoting simultaneous development.