THE EMBASSY OF THE DEMOCRATIC
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA TO SWITZERLAND
Pourtalésstrasse 43 Tel: +41-31 951 6621
3074 Muri/Bern Switzerland Fax: +41-31 951 5704
E-mail: dprk.embassy@bluewin.ch
No 53/23 June 28, 2023
1. Japan's Hostility toward DPRK under Fire
2. Press Statement of DPRK Permanent Mission in UNESCO
3. Barrage of Protests in Europe
4. BRICS and New International Economic Order
5. The Korean War Denounces
Japan's Hostility toward DPRK under Fire
Pyongyang, June 28 (KCNA) -- Ri PyongDok, researcher of the Institute for Japan Studies of the DPRK Foreign Ministry, issued the following article titled "The UN should not be a ground for politically-motivated conspiratorial propaganda against a sovereign state" on June 27:
Japan is going to hold a video seminar on the abduction issue in the UN arena again in collusion with the U.S., Australia, EU and others.
As was in the past, the seminar is no more than a last-ditch effort of the hostile forces to tarnish the international image of the dignified DPRK and create a collective atmosphere of pressure on it.
Although Japan annually holds such a strange seminar in cahoots with those countries hell-bent on hostility toward the DPRK, it can never cover up the hideous inhumane crimes it committed against the Korean people in the last century as an assailant is unable to disguise itself as a "victim".
Japan, which occupied Korea by force of arms in the last century, forcibly drafted more than 8.4 million young and middle-aged Korean people, mercilessly killed more than one million of them and forced 200 000 Korean women into sexual slavery, is now talking about "abduction" and "human rights" in the UN arena. This is the height of shamelessness and an insult to history.
As for the "abduction issue" talked by Japanese, it has been completely, finally and irreversibly settled, thanks to our magnanimity and sincere efforts.
Japan should have honestly responded to our good faith with full apology and reparation for its past colonial rule and unethical atrocities.
However, the successive Japanese ruling quarters have hyped up the "abduction issue" and frantically incited hostility toward the DPRK, while abusing the latter's sincerity for realizing their wild political ambition for long-term office.
Even such a weird expression as "abduction industry" was produced for such a wild rumor that it was highly likely that hundreds of Japanese missing in Japan had been "abducted" by the DPRK. But, several persons alleged to be missing appeared at home, provoking criticism and derision.
It is needed to ponder how much profit the Japanese government will get from its anti-DPRK abduction racket while squandering the "abduction budget" collected as taxes from the people.
It is a waste of time for Japan to persistently bring the unfeasible issue to the fore in the international arena. It is also little short of denying the stand of the Japanese chief executive who doesn't miss an opportunity to say that he hopes for the "Japan-DPRK summit without preconditions".
No matter how desperately Japan tries to internationalize the "abduction issue", it will not attract attention from anyone, except those pseudo-"human rights" experts and riff-raffs seeking to live on the "abduction budget" of Japan, and the U.S. and its vassal forces that are so eager to side with their ally.
Japan is doggedly insisting that there would be no solution to the abduction issue unless the "repatriation of all victims" is realized. Japan should bear in mind that such insistence is no more than a daydream like calling for bringing the dead back to life.
To say in addition, the U.S., which has set new records every year in its human rights abuses and constantly broken them, has neither face nor qualifications to take issue with anyone over his "human rights" performance.
The UN should no longer be a politically-motivated plot-breeding ground against a sovereign state.
The UN arena should become the one for condemning Japan, a war criminal state, which has not yet honestly atoned for the past crimes it committed against humanity by trampling down the sovereignty of a country and a nation for more than 40 years, despite the lapse of a long time, and for urging it to redeem its inglorious past.
In order to fulfill its mission according to its sacred charter, the UN should disclose and punish Japan keen on the moves to have access to the capability for an aggressive preemptive attack under the pretext of non-existent threat from its neighbors, as well as the U.S. which is seriously threatening peace and stability in the region by actively encouraging Japan to do so.
Press Statement of DPRK Permanent Mission in UNESCO
Pyongyang, June 27 (KCNA) -- The DPRK permanent mission in UNESCO issued the following press statement on June 27:
The issue of the U.S. reentry into UNESCO has recently drawn the attention from the international community.
The issue has been raised not for the first time today.
As already known, the U.S. withdrew from UNESCO in 1984 nearly 40 years ago, displeased with the organization's demand for the establishment of a new international order such as arms reduction and elimination of the remnants of colonialism, and rejoined the organization in 2003.
Later, when UNESCO accepted Palestine as its full-fledged member, despite the opposition of the U.S., the U.S. suspended paying the membership fee in 2011. In 2018 when the Trump administration was pursuing "America first" policy, the U.S. withdrew from the organization again, blaming the organization for adopting anti-Israel decisions only.
It is by no means fortuitous that such whimsical behavior of the U.S. of going in and out of an international organization just like a hotel room is regarded as "walking in park".
The U.S. has an inglorious background of having withdrawn not only from UNESCO but also from WHO, UN Human Rights Council and other international organizations. And it is notorious for having arbitrarily abrogated lots of bilateral and multilateral agreements and international agreements.
This clearly proves that the U.S. is, indeed, an illegal and lawless country which is utterly indifferent to the international laws, the outcome of the unanimous will of the international community, and the "order based on rules" oft-repeated by the U.S. is nothing but a veil to justify its self-interest and selfish desire.
What matters is the impudent attitude of the U.S. seeking to rejoin the organization in disregard of elementary regulations and procedures, far from reflecting on its wrong practices.
It is absurd that the U.S., boasting itself as the "world leader" and "economic giant", entreated the organization for mercy in regard to its arrears without caring about decency. Moreover, it is unsightly that it has an eye to the right to vote and a membership of executive council when it finds itself in such miserable position.
The U.S. said that it would pay arrears within a given period. But nobody presupposes that it will take 5 years or 10 years in such a situation that the U.S. is troubled with the debt limit.
Moreover, in view of the U.S. political situation in which the foreign policy is reversed in a moment whenever the regime is changed due to the factional confrontation unprecedented in the world political circles, it is the unanimous opinion of the international community that the U.S. might withdraw from the organization again any time.
Clear is the sinister intention of the U.S. hastening the reentry into the organization while demanding even "credit".
It is to take advantage of the international organization as a theatre for confrontation between camps and a window for realizing the strategy for hegemony, not for international cooperation and promotion in the fields of education, science and culture, the natural mission of the organization.
In March, U.S. Secretary of State Blinken claimed that China has its considerable influence over UNESCO and if the U.S. does not accede to UNESCO, it will lose a chance to lead the activities of the organization. This shows what the real aim sought by the U.S. is.
The U.S. should not make a mockery of UNESCO.
UNESCO is a prestigious international organization which regards it as its main mission to implant the love of peace in the people's mind and promote the equal, intellectual and cultural development of the world.
The international community aspiring after justice, truth, peace and civilization should never remain a passive onlooker to the situation that the organization is at risk of turning into a theatre of rowdyism full of inter-camp confrontation, inter-ism confrontation and division due to the U.S. reentry.
The U.S., which treated the inviolable international organization as its private company, should keenly repent of its wrongdoings and break with its roguish nature of resorting to high-handed and arbitrary practices before joining the organization.
If the U.S. wants to return to UNESCO, it should have to pay off its political, economical and moral debts before the organization.
Entering this year, most European countries have witnessed a succession of large-scale strikes and anti-war protests calling for immediate stabilization of the aggravated economic situation like high inflation rates and energy crisis caused by the prolonged Ukrainian crisis.
In the UK, a week-long strike of railway workers in January caused traffic congestion.
Workers in the public health service, civil aviation and telecommunication sectors also joined in it demanding for an increase of wages after inflation hit a new record-high in 40 years.
All this resulted in causing complete mayhem across the country.
Also in Berlin, over 10,000 citizens staged a protest in late February, shouting anti-war slogans, and denounced the government’s arms aid to Ukraine.
In France, mass protests continue to be waged from early this year against the government for its law on pension system reform.
In April alone, over 400,000 people took part in protests in Paris.
The protests turned violent in other cities like Nantes, Brest, Nice and Marseilles.
Prior to this, mass demonstrations against the government’s arms aid to Ukraine were staged across the country in February.
In a nationwide demonstration called the “National March for Peace”, the participants marched, upholding a huge placard saying “For Peace”.
They called for France’s withdrawal from the U.S.-led NATO, and its end of arms provision to Ukraine.
In Romania, the general strike has continued unabated in the education field from late May, causing social instability.
The trade union of teachers demanded an increase in the wages of teachers and assistant teachers.
In response to this, approximately 15,000 teachers and staff from the capital city and other regions of the country staged a demonstration in front of the government and parliament buildings.
Students and their parents were also reported to have joined in.
Entering June in Warsaw, 300,000~400,000 demonstrators held a large-scale mass rally and anti-government protest.
News media and experts comment that the unending barrage of mass demonstrations reflect the sentiment of European public who have grown extremely weary of the continued aggravation of the economy and the ever-worsening difficulties in life caused by the prolonged Ukrainian crisis.
BRICS and New International Economic Order
BRICS efforts to reform the present international financial system are drawing attention.
At the recent BRICS Ministerial Meeting held in South Africa, the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa announced that Egypt, Uruguay and Arab Emirates -non-member states of BRICS- have officially joined the New Development Bank (NDB) of BRICS.
So, the member of the NDB has increased to 8 including the BRICS member states.
In a video speech delivered at the BRICS Ministerial Meeting, Egyptian foreign minister said that global challenges such as food and energy crises and debt crisis are calling for dialogue and bilateral cooperation among the developing countries. He put a special emphasis on the point that the multilateral investment mechanisms should be reformed and a new investment mechanism be established.
The NDB was founded in Shanghai, China in 2015 by the decision made at the BRICS summit in 2014. The NDB has set it as its goal to provide unconditional financing to infrastructure building and sustainable development projects in the developing countries and is now conducting large-scale financial activities.
The bank has made positive contributions to the development of green economy in BRICS member states by providing large loans to the projects related to mitigating and coping with climate change. It also paid deep attention to the efforts made to eradicate the aftereffects of the pandemic. The NDB provided a loan of $ 5.4bn to South Africa and appropriated $ 1bn to Brazil and India respectively for health crisis response and economic recovery.
Right after the NDB was founded, an economic expert pointed out that the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are tools to sustain the current imbalanced international financial system which serves the interests of the U.S. and a few developed European countries only. Saying that developing countries all across the world are calling for a change in the current international financial system, the expert expressed anticipation that the NDB will offer new financial opportunities for them.
Meanwhile, as the movement of the BRICS member states towards a unique monetary system based on common currency is under the spotlight. The BRICS Summit, which is due in the coming August, will discuss the aforementioned matter together with the issue on expanding its membership as its main agenda.
A former high-level official of a country in the Western hemisphere said that the establishment of a payment system based on common BRICS currency has great potential for success, acknowledging that it will slowly begin crippling the dominance of the U.S. dollar while contributing to the creation of a multipolar world at the same time.
Economic experts and even the press from countries all over predict that if BRICS, which already exceeds the G-7 in terms of GDP, continues to expand its membership with more countries signing up for the NDB, it will rise as a multilateral alliance and a financial organization exercising greater geopolitical leverage thus restructuring the international economic order.
Kim Hyok Chol, Member of Association for the Promotion of International Economic and Technological Exchange
Many wars are recorded in the history of the world, but none had been so bloody and destructive as the Korean war in the 1950s.
Having occupied south Korea by force of arms, the United States stepped up preparations for a war against north Korea, which was following the road of independence, and at the dawn of June 25, 1950 started the aggressive war to make the whole of Korea its colony.
It hurled into the Korean front its huge forces as well as troops of 15 of its satellite countries, committing during the three-year war barbarities unprecedented in the human history of war.
It dropped an average of 18 bombs per square kilometre on the northern half of Korea, including about 428 000 on Pyongyang, a city 52km2 wide and with a population of 370 000, which meant more than one bomb per head of its population.
The carpet bombing destroyed all the urban and rural areas, factories, railways, schools, hospitals and cultural establishments in the northern half of Korea, and reduced it to ashes.
US troops killed 1 231 500 innocent people in the region, including women, children and the elderly, by resorting to the most cruel and brutal methods that surpassed by far those employed by Nazi Germany during the Second World War.
And in gross violation of international law, they committed such a crime against humanity as using weapons of mass destruction like germ and chemical weapons, and threatened that they would use atomic bombs, giving birth to many separated families.
When June 25, the day of the start of the war, comes round every year, the Korean people denounce the brutal atrocities the US committed during the war and its schemes to ignite another war in their country, vowing to take revenge on the enemy thousands of times.