North Korea warned the UN on Monday of longtime rival Japan's "attempts at rearmament" while emphasizing that multipolarity in international affairs was an "irresistible trend of the times."
Addressing the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son-gyong accused Japan of taking advantage of the current volatile international environment.
He said Japan has accelerated its attempts at rearmament with an "unprecedented" commitment, including the revision of its Peace Constitution, the abandonment of its "exclusively defense-oriented policy," the reformation of its military structure and an arms buildup.
"Such actions are casting war clouds over the entire region," Kim warned.
He said that "under the signboard of counterattack capability," Japan has moved ahead with the development and possession of long-range attack weapons that put neighboring countries within striking range.
Condemning recent joint military exercises by the US, Japan and South Korea, Kim accused the United States of conspiring "with its allies to systematically amend and update the anti-North Korea nuclear war scenarios through "provocative war rehearsals of all hues and military build-up."
"The US-Japan-South Korea military alliance, unmistakably aimed at the DPRK, is being evolved by the United States into a more offensive and aggressive military bloc with a nuclear element," he said, referring to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.
He reiterated that North Korea's nuclear status is "uncompromisingly" fixed and can never be reversed in any circumstances.
"I would like to reiterate the official position of the DPRK government: the status of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as a nuclear weapons state that has been uncompromisingly and permanently fixed both physically and legally with absolutely no turning back, can never be reversed in any circumstances or by any means, no matter how hard and loudly the hostile forces may deny in chorus with all sorts of rhetoric," he said.
Kim observed that multilateralism and multipolarization have emerged as an "irresistible aspiration and trend of the times based on justice and equity."
"Gone are the days when an individual member state unilaterally imposed its will on the rest of the world and dominated the international political arena."
Kim also indirectly described the US-Israeli war on Iran as "state-sponsored terrorism."
"The new year started with the most despicable, world startling act of state-sponsored terrorism, followed by worldwide outbreaks of other appalling incidents and events," he said.
Urging the UN to firmly secure its authority and future by promoting equality and cooperation among sovereign states, Kim said the world body should no longer be misused for the sinister political purposes of ''specific forces.''
He said the effects of a disaster-prone abnormal climate have given rise to a succession of extreme high temperatures, droughts, heavy rains and floods in many countries and regions, seriously threatening the survival of mankind.
This, coupled with the spread of communicable diseases and hikes in oil prices, worsened the socio-economic crisis, he added.
