Pyongyang, June 8 (KCNA) -- A spokesperson for the Maritime Administration of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) issued the following press statement on Thursday:
Recently,
a media information service official of the International Maritime Organization
(IMO) has reportedly clarified via U.S. media its stand that if the DPRK
launches a satellite without prior notice, it can adopt a resolution of
denunciation as it did in the past.
Such
stand of IMO runs completely counter to its existing stand that prior notice on a satellite launch is not needed in the light of the requirements of its
convention and custom. Therefore, we cannot but express strong regret and
displeasure at the fickle attitude of the organization.
As
regards the fact that IMO has taken a very unfair and prejudiced stand on the
DPRK's satellite launch, its just and legitimate exercise of sovereignty, the
Maritime Administration of the DPRK clarifies the truth once again in order to
help the international community correctly understand and recognize the issue
concerning the DPRK's prior notice on the satellite launch.
On
May 30, the DPRK e-mailed a prior report on the satellite launch to IMO in the name
of its Maritime Administration and the director of the IMO maritime security
bureau replied that it is not obligatory to inform the organization of the
satellite launch according to the requirements of convention and custom.
On
the same day, IMO told Reuters that the DPRK had already sent an advance notice of the satellite launch and that the notice is just a formal measure and not a
requirement as the navigational warning is directly reported to vessels via the
world navigational warning system.
This
means that the IMO side made it clear that no country has an obligation under
international law to exclusively inform IMO of planned satellite launches, with
the exception of issuing a navigational warning through the world navigational
warning system.
In
actuality, the DPRK sent navigational warning data, ahead of its satellite
launch, to the Maritime Safety Agency of Japan, a regional troubleshooting
body, as required by the regulations of IMO. And although it was not
obligatory, we informed IMO this with good intent in consideration of the
usage that we had made prior notice to the IMO side.
Nevertheless,
on the very day the DPRK launched a satellite, IMO adopted a resolution full of
unreasonable contents saying that it strongly denounces the DPRK for launching a missile without any prior notice and urges the DPRK to strictly observe the
prior notice regulations concerning the world navigational warning system.
Most
deplorable is the illogical and senseless stand and attitude shown by IMO, a
professional UN organization that should regard equity and specialty as its
basic principle as it is not a maritime supervisory organ of an individual
country or a non-governmental body.
We
cannot but take issue with IMO over the fact that it brands the DPRK's just
exercise of the right to self-defense for coping with the military threats by
the U.S. and its vassal forces as an illegal activity going contrary to the
UNSC "resolution".
IMO
is just a professional UN organization with a mission to promote technical
cooperation among UN member states in the international maritime security
field. It is by no means an affiliated body for supervising the implementation
of the UNSC resolutions.
If
it is the stand of IMO that the resolution criticizing the DPRK is only a
document reflecting the standpoint of and response from its member states and
IMO has nothing to do with it, we urge IMO to make clear its specific attitude
and position before us and the international community.
We
take into consideration the fact that the secretary general of IMO visited the
DPRK delegation on the day, when an anti-DPRK resolution was adopted at a
meeting of the Maritime Security Committee of IMO, to ask about our stand, and
the standpoint expressed by its media information service official that if the
IMO council is informed of the DPRK side's concern, it will be handled
appropriately.
Availing
itself of this opportunity, the Maritime Administration of the DPRK re-clarifies an official stand that it denounces and rejects and never recognizes
IMO's unfair and illegal anti-DPRK resolution, and demands that the IMO side
reflects our just viewpoint in its official document.
We
will wait for IMO's official reply to this.
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