Conference on Disarmament Holds First Plenary under the Presidency of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Several Speakers Express Deep Concern about the Launching of Ballistic Missiles by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and its Advancement of Weapons of Mass Destruction

The Conference on Disarmament today held its first plenary under the Presidency of Ambassador Tae Song Han of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Ambassador Han announced his plan to focus on assisting the five subsidiary bodies to agree on their interim reports. Nigeria, Russian Federation, China, Pakistan and Iran expressed their delegations’ support for preparing the interim reports on the work of the subsidiary bodies.

Australia on behalf of a group of countries, Germany on behalf of the Group of Seven (G-7), France on behalf of the European Union and Japan expressed deep concern about the repeated launching by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea of ballistic missiles, as well as its continued advancement of weapons of mass destruction and its nuclear weapons testing programme. In response, Ambassador Han said that no State had the right to criticise or intervene or interfere in the national defence policy [of other States].

The following countries took the floor: Australia on behalf of a group of countries, Germany on behalf of the G-7, Nigeria on behalf of the Group of 21 (G-21), France on behalf of the European Union, New Zealand, Nigeria, Russian Federation, China, Argentina, Pakistan, India, Iran, Republic of Korea, United States and Japan.

The secretariat will announce when the Conference’s next public plenary will be held.

Statements

Ambassador TAE SONG HAN of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, President of the Conference on Disarmament, said that it was an honour and privilege for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to assume the presidency of the Conference

Ambassador Han congratulated his predecessor, the Ambassador of Cuba, who had made considerable efforts to take the Conference forward during his presidency. He also expressed gratitude to the Chinese and Cuban presidencies for their valuable contributions in establishing the five subsidiary bodies. He recalled that the United Nations Charter obligated all delegates to work collectively for achieving peace and security for all nations.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea remained committed to contributing to global peace and disarmament and attached importance to the work of the Conference on Disarmament. The Conference was the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum and had a role to play in ensuring global peace and security.

Throughout the presidency, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea would be guided by the rules of procedure, in particular rule 18. It would respect every delegation's position when organizing the business of the Conference, while promoting a positive atmosphere of building trust, cooperation and productive dialogue among members.

The Conference was now entering a crucial stage of its work, with five subsidiary bodies conducting their third and last sessions aimed at agreeing on interim report[s]. Ambassador Han said he planned to assist the subsidiary bodies in every way possible during the final phase and allow Member States to dedicate themselves to these sessions. He had started bilateral consultations with the coordinators of the bodies on progress made, and to explore aspects requiring the attention of the presidency. In this regard, the President planned to hold one plenary per week to give sufficient time for coordinators and Member States to concentrate on achieving substantive results in the subsidiary bodies.

Ambassador Han said that at the plenary on the third week prior to launching the last session of the subsidiary bodies, the coordinators would be invited to give an overview of their activities to help Member States to prepare the reports. The President said he welcomed and was ready to discuss any proposal or suggestion from Member States for the fulfilment of the Conference’s mandate. He looked forward to the full support of all delegates.

Australia, speaking on behalf of a group of States, said that these States had decided to participate in the meetings of the Conference during the presidency of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to advance its important work. Yet these States remained gravely concerned about the Democratic People's Republic of Korea’s reckless actions, which continued to seriously undermine the very value of the Conference. These States’ constructive participation in the work of this body during the presidency should not be construed as a tacit consent to nor an acknowledgment of the actions taken by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in violation of numerous Security Council resolutions.

The States were deeply concerned about the Democratic People's Republic of Korea’s continued advancement of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile capabilities, including reports that it was preparing to conduct its seventh nuclear test. Since the beginning of 2022, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea had conducted an unprecedented series of missile tests, including launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles, alleged hypersonic weapons, ballistic missiles with the stated intent for the operation of tactical nuclear weapons, and at least one submarine-launched ballistic missile. These tests were all clear violations of Security Council resolutions and demonstrated the State’s continued efforts to expand and further develop its ballistic missile capabilities. They were a threat to international peace and security and sought to undermine the global non-proliferation regime.

The States urged the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to cease its destabilising actions and to abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programmes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner. They urged the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to return at an early date to, and fully comply with, the Non-Proliferation Treaty and International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. They called on the State to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and to fully observe a moratorium on nuclear test explosions or any other nuclear explosion.

The States supported diplomatic engagement towards peace and security on the Korean peninsula and urged the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to resume dialogue with relevant parties.

Germany, speaking on behalf of the Group of Seven (G-7), condemned in the strongest terms the test of yet another intercontinental ballistic missile conducted on 25 May 2022 by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Like a number of ballistic missile launches the State had conducted since the beginning of 2022, this act constituted a further blatant violation of relevant Security Council resolutions and undermined international peace and security as well as the global non-proliferation regime.

The G-7 was very concerned by the unprecedented series of ballistic missile tests with increasingly versatile systems across all ranges. Together with the evidence of ongoing nuclear activities, these acts underscored the Democratic People's Republic of Korea’s determination to advance and diversify its nuclear capabilities. These reckless actions flagrantly breached the State’s obligations under relevant Security Council resolutions, which the Security Council most recently reaffirmed in resolution 2397 (2017). They also posed a danger and unpredictable risk to international civil aviation and maritime navigation in the region.

The G-7 reiterated its urgent call on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to abandon its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programmes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner and to fully comply with all legal obligations arising from the relevant Security Council resolutions.

The G-7 deeply regretted that the Security Council had failed to adopt the draft resolution aimed at condemning the series of recent ballistic missile launches by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, despite support from 13 members. It urged all United Nations Member States, especially Security Council members, to condemn the Democratic People's Republic of Korea’s behaviour and reaffirm its obligation to abandon its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.

The G-7 called on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to engage in diplomacy toward denuclearisation and accept the repeated offers of dialogue put forward by the United States, the Republic of Korea and Japan. They urged the State to facilitate access for international humanitarian organizations and for independent assessment of humanitarian needs such as food and medicines as soon as possible.

Nigeria, speaking on behalf of the Group of 21 (G-21), said that the G-21 believed that space technology had become an important part of daily lives. Outer space was the common heritage of humankind, and must be used for the benefit of all countries. The growing use of outer space required all States to take action. The G-21 called on all States to promote international cooperation regarding space activities and emphasised the importance of preventing an arms race in outer space.

The G-21 was deeply concerned about the development and deployment of weapons systems capable of being used in outer space. All States should restrict the weaponisation of outer space, and cooperate on actions in space in line with United Nations conventions. The Group stressed the need to consolidate and reaffirm the Conference’s role in preventing an arms race in outer space.

The G-21 recognised the value of the non-binding agreements regarding the use of transcontinental ballistic missiles, but stressed the importance of establishing a legally binding instrument on their use. The Group welcomed the updated draft treaty text submitted by China and the Russian Federation on the prevention of the placement of weapons in outer space to the Conference in June 2014.

France, speaking on behalf of the European Union, strongly condemned launches of ballistic missiles that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea had conducted in unprecedented numbers since the beginning of this year. The European Union further condemned renewed activities in several nuclear sites, including construction work at the Punggye-ri test site. These actions posed a threat to regional stability, and international peace and security.

The European Union called on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to cease destabilising actions, abide by its international obligations under multiple Security Council resolutions, and re-engage in a credible and meaningful dialogue with the international community. The international community would never accept the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as a nuclear weapon State under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea must sign and ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, return to full compliance with its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, comply fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, bring into force the Additional Protocol to that agreement, and eliminate all its nuclear weapons, any other weapons of mass destruction and abandon existing nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.

Until the Democratic People's Republic of Korea complied with its obligations under Security Council resolutions, the European Union would continue to implement strict sanctions and it encouraged all United Nations members to do the same.

The European Union fully respected rule 9 of the rules of procedure, which stipulated that the presidency of the Conference on Disarmament should rotate among all its members in alphabetical order. Given the profound repeated violations of its non-proliferation and disarmament obligations, the European Union had decided to express it strong concern through a lower level of representation by all Union Member States during the Democratic People's Republic of Korea’s Presidency until 24 June 2022.

New Zealand said Security Council resolutions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea were adopted based on the threat that the State posed on the Indo-Pacific region, and recent weapons tests were a flagrant violation of all these resolutions.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea had much to gain by ceasing its weapons testing programmes. The Government had a choice: to engage in meaningful dialogue towards denuclearisation, or to remain impoverished.

New Zealand urged the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to return to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to implement its safeguards and obligations under the International Atomic Energy Agency, and to join the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

Nigeria congratulated the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on its assumption of the presidency, and assured it of Nigeria’s support. The focus of the Conference should be the complete eradication of all nuclear weapons. This was hinged on the President’s proposals on how to advance the Conference’s work. The preliminary summary of subsidiary body one submitted by Algeria on the work of the subsidiary body reflected an approach through which other subsidiary bodies should adopt their submissions. Nigeria called on all delegations to demonstrate flexibility and adopt the collective findings of the subsidiary bodies, even when they did not reflect national positions.

Nigeria called on all delegations to ensure that this session of the Conference would reflect tangible progress and set the pace for achieving concrete outcomes in subsequent sessions.

Russian Federation congratulated the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on taking up the presidency, and assured it of the Russian Federation’s support. Now was one of the most important times for the Conference, with the work of the subsidiary bodies in their final stages. The coordinators would be able to speak before the Conference regarding the progress of the bodies, which would assist with preparation of the outcome reports. Russia assured the Conference of its readiness to cooperate with all delegates to achieve substantive outcomes from these subsidiary bodies.

China congratulated the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on its assumption of the presidency. The Chinese delegation would actively support the presidency. China agreed with the plan set out for the Conference by the President. The coming weeks would be important for the subsidiary bodies. China supported furthering the work of these subsidiary bodies. It was studying the draft reports of coordinators, and would take part in discussions of these reports within the subsidiary bodies. It would work to reflect the views of all sides in the reports, so that the reports reflected the efforts of the subsidiary bodies made throughout this year.

Argentina stated that for the Conference to continue its work effectively, it required the necessary political will from all parties. It called on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to respect the various resolutions made regarding its weapons testing actions.

Pakistan welcomed the presidency of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Pakistan was committed to advancing the work of the subsidiary bodies. It expressed hope that each subsidiary body would produce a substantive report, and that the Conference would come together to make a meaningful contribution to its substantive work.

India extended its congratulations to the presidency of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Effective multilateral work was the need of the hour. India hoped for peace, and called for responsible actions by all States.

Iran congratulated the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on assuming the presidency. Iran expressed hope that the reports of the subsidiary bodies would fully reflect discussions made throughout this year.

Ambassador TAE SONG HAN of theDemocratic People's Republic of Korea, President of the Conference on Disarmament, speaking in his national capacity, said that the negative statements made this morning by certain delegations raised questions about their sincerity and desire to contribute to the work of this forum. There was no reason why the Democratic People's Republic of Korea could not develop its national defence capabilities. There was no need to respond to the remarks of these States as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea had made its position clear on several occasions.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea was still at war with the United States. The Korean War that began in the 1950s had not ended. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea was under the threat of nuclear attack from the United States, and was conducting testing as part of its plan to strengthen national capabilities so as to protect the State from the United States. The tests posed no threat to neighbouring countries. Oppression could not solve problems. When a State was invaded, no other State would defend it. National policy was decided by the will of the people. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea knew that what it was doing was correct, and would continue to strengthen its defence capabilities as long as the United States posed a threat. Nothing had changed in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea’s strategy, and everything was fine and normal.

Republic of Korea said that it was sincere about its commitment to multilateralism. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea had launched over 20 ballistic missiles this year alone, including multiple intercontinental ballistic missiles. It was reported that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was ready for its seventh nuclear test and had developed tactical warheads. The Republic of Korea’s annual military exercise was in response to threats from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Article 25 of the United Nations Charter specified that all Member States must abide by the decisions of the Security Council, and article 103 stated that States’ obligations under the United Nations Charter prevailed over obligations under any other international agreement. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea was thus bound by relevant Security Council resolutions.

United States said it remained committed to a diplomatic solution, and expressed hope that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea would participate in diplomatic discussions toward achieving peace.

Japan was deeply concerned about the Democratic People's Republic of Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear weapons testing programmes, and called on the State to abandon its weapons testing programmes. By not doing so, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea would further worsen its dire humanitarian situation. Japan called on the State to respect its obligations as expressed by the Republic of Korea and accept the offers of diplomatic discussion presented by the United States.

Ambassador TAE SONG HAN of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, President of the Conference on Disarmament, said that no State had the right to criticise or intervene or interfere in the national defence policy [of other States].

Mr. Han wished to concentrate on the work of the subsidiary bodies, and said he did not intend to hold a plenary next week.

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not an official record. English and French versions of our releases are different as they are the product of two separate coverage teams that work independently.

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