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| This photo, released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency on Jan. 28, shows a long-range cruise missile being launched from a transporter erector launcher on Jan. 25. Yonhap |
By Nam Hyun-woo
North and South Korea traded barbs over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs at the United Nations Conference on Disarmament, Thursday (local time). While North Korea claimed that it is pursuing those programs for "self-defense," the South countered that such a claim is an "irresponsible excuse."
During the conference, Ju Yong-chol, counselor of North Korea's Permanent Mission to Geneva, said the regime will "never give up nuclear deterrence" and will not respond to any calls for negotiations that bear the prerequisite that the North should denuclearize itself first.
Ju continued that the North's measures of improving national defense are a legitimate exercise of self-defense rights in strict accordance with international laws and the United Nations Charter.
According to Ju, the U.S. and South Korea are "threatening" the North's security with military exercises, and Western nations should denounce the two countries if they want to contribute to the peace and security of the Korean Peninsula.
In response, Kim Il-hoon, counselor at South Korea's Permanent Mission to Geneva, countered that the North has been developing "programs for weapons of mass destruction for decades under its own plans," adding that "blaming others for its unlawful military activities and provocations is an irresponsible excuse."
Kim said the joint defense between South Korea and the U.S. is a response to the North's military threats, and it is a duty of a responsible government. "The North should end its ignorance of its serious human rights condition and chronic shortages, and withdraw its obsession with nuclear and missile programs."
Kim added that Pyongyang should listen to the international society's voices, and that it will not gain anything from illegal provocations, urging the regime to return to talks.
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