Press Statement of DPRK Permanent Mission to UN

Pyongyang, February 16 (KCNA) -- The Permanent Mission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to the United Nations issued a press statement on February 12 as regards the fact that one year has passed since the DPRK Government requested the UN Secretariat to organize an international forum of legal experts for clarification of legality of the "sanctions resolutions" of the UN Security Council imposed against the DPRK.

Recalling that in January last year the DPRK proposed the UN Secretariat to organize an international forum of legal experts for clarification of legality of the "sanctions resolutions", the press statement said:

The Permanent Mission of the DPRK to the United Nations, during past one year, has constantly requested for earliest organization of the international forum of legal experts to the UN Secretariat through the meetings with the secretary-general, the under-secretary-general for Political Affairs and the under-secretary-general for Legal Affairs, and the letters of the DPRK permanent representative addressed to the secretary-general for 5 times, releases of the Permanent Mission's press statements for 4 times as well as press conferences and interviews for 5 times.

However, the UN Secretariat still turns away our just proposal for organizing an

international forum of legal experts, continuously persisting in its outdated sophistry, saying

that pursuant to Article 39 of the UN Charter, it is for the Security Council to determine whether or not a particular action or set of actions or a particular situation or dispute constitutes a threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression and thus it is for the Security Council to decide what recommendations to make or what measures are to be taken to maintain or restore international peace and security.

The UN Secretariat should listen carefully to the voices raised from numerous legal experts and lawyers of many countries, who are supporting our proposal for international forum, insisting that the Security Council has no legal ground or moral justification to condemn nuclear test or launch of ICBM and satellite as violation of international law.

The DPRK Permanent Mission to the UN requests once again the UN Secretariat to immediately respond in a positive way to our proposal for organizing an international forum of legal experts, in conformity with the mission stipulated in the UN Charter.