For many years Pyongyang has been consistently asking for a Peace Treaty to replace the 1953 Korean War Armistice Agreement, in addition to (military) de-nuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. Below you can find excerpts from 20 statements or speeches made by DPRK Officials during 2010 which express these sentiments. This is not an exhaustive list, there are others which we have not noted here. Most of these statements can be obtained from the Korean Central News Agency of the DPRK website: http://www.kcna.co.jp/index-e.htm A useful website which offers a search facility for KCNA news items is http://www.nk-news.net/index.php December 17th 2010 For the U.S. to replace the Armistice Agreement by a peace treaty is its important task for averting a war and ensuring peace on the peninsula. The Korean Peninsula remains a region fraught with the greatest danger of war in the world. This is entirely attributable to the U.S. pursuance of the policy of aggression against the DPRK. December 16th 2010 The history and the reality go to prove that it was none other than the U.S. that has systematically breached all the international agreements calling for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. It was again the U.S. that introduced nuclear weapons into south Korea, scrapping the Armistice Agreement and causing the nuclearization of the peninsula, not content with shipping war equipment there in gross violation of the AA in 1953. It is still not implementing the resolution 3390 of the UN General Assembly held in 1975 which calls for replacing the AA by a peace treaty and disbanding "the UN Forces Command." The DPRK supports all proposals for dialogue including the six-party talks, prompted by the desire to prevent a war and realize denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula but will never beg for it. 28th October 2010. Invariable is the stand of the DPRK to establish a durable peace-keeping regime on the peninsula and denuclearize it. The DPRK is ready to resume the six-party talks. 2nd October 2010 Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK Pak Kil Yon, who headed the DPRK delegation, when addressing the plenary meeting of the 65th UN General Assembly on September 29: Underscoring the need to strengthen the role of the UN through a more positive and correct reform of the UN and decisively increase the authority of the UN General Assembly, he went on: The 30th UN General Assembly in 1975 adopted a resolution calling for dismantling the "UN Command" in south Korea and forcing foreign forces to withdraw from south Korea and replacing the Armistice Agreement with a peace treaty as a measure to defuse tension and preserve lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula. 35 years have passed since then, but the state of ceasefire, which is neither war nor peace, is going on in the peninsula. As the resolution of the UN General Assembly is not implemented, the DPRK's efforts to protect sovereignty and achieve peaceful development are exposed to a constant threat and infringed upon and there periodically prevails on the peninsula an explosive situation that pushes it to the brink of war. The DPRK proposed to the signatories to the Armistice Agreement an early start of the talks for replacing the AA with a peace treaty this year which marks the lapse of six decades since the outbreak of Korean war. 27th September 2010. Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Pak Kil Yon, who headed the DPRK delegation to the 65th meeting of the UN General Assembly, made an address at an annual meeting of Non Aligned Movement Foreign Ministers that was held on the sidelines of the general assembly on Sept. 27. In his speech he stated: The DPRK proposed parties to the Korean Armistice Agreement to hold talks for replacing the Armistice Agreement with a peace accord this year, six decades since the outbreak of the Korean war. The proposal for concluding the peace agreement was aimed to remove the root cause of posing constant threat to the peace and stability of the region and establish durable peace mechanism on the Korean Peninsula. 27th August 2010 Report on Jimmy Carter's Visit to DPRK Jimmy Carter, ex-president of the United States, and his party visited the DPRK from Aug. 25 to 27. Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, met and had a talk with them. He discussed with Carter the pending issues of mutual concern between the DPRK and the U.S. Kim Yong Nam expressed the will of the DPRK government for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the resumption of the six-party talks. In particular, he emphasized that it is the behest of President Kim Il Sung to denuclearize the peninsula. 31st July 2010 KCNA Blasts war Maneuvres for invading DPRK
28th July 2010 Removal of Source of War urged At present there is not any legal guarantee for peace and security of the Korean Peninsula. The Korean Armistice Agreement has already been reduced to a mere scrap of paper due to the maneuvers of the bellicose forces at home and abroad threatening peace and security of the peninsula. All the inter-Korean agreements on removing the military confrontation and tension were nullified and the north-south dialogue and cooperation, which had been kept even in the era of confrontation, were suspended under the present south Korean conservative authorities' policy of stamping out the inter-Korean declarations. This is the aftermath of the deliberate and premeditated maneuvers on the part of the U.S. and the south Korean puppet forces seeking to provoke the second Korean war at any cost. Any problem can not be correctly solved without ensuring peace and security on the Korean Peninsula. The main source of disturbing peace on the peninsula is the U.S. constant hostile policy toward the DPRK. The U.S. should stop at once its criminal hostile policy that escalates the military confrontation and tension on the peninsula and brings the danger of a war against the DPRK. The unstable armistice system lasting more than half a century becomes a source of military tension and possible outbreak of war. The Armistice Agreement should be replaced with a peace treaty to establish a durable peacekeeping mechanism. 27th July 2010 In order to bring the process of denuclearization of the peninsula back on its orbit it is necessary to pay primary attention to building confidence between the DPRK and the U.S., the principal parties concerned with the nuclear issue, and to this end it is essential to put an end to the state of armistice, the root cause of the hostile relations between the two countries, and conclude a peace treaty to begin with. Now is the time for the U.S. to make a decision to replace the AA which exists in name only with a peace treaty. If the U.S. truly stands for settling the issue of the peninsula, it will not be hard for it to conclude a peace treaty and the denuclearization process will make rapid progress. The tense situation and danger of a war prevailing on the peninsula are attributable to such leftovers of the Cold War era as the Korean Armistice Agreement (AA) and the U.S.-south Korea "Mutual Defense Treaty", the article says, and goes on: They should have been eliminated from the peninsula along with the demise of the Cold War. The tense situation in the region is just like a time bomb ready to go off any moment as it poses a constant threat to peace and security in Northeast Asia and, furthermore, in the Asia-Pacific region. Only when the leftovers of the Cold War era are eliminated from the peninsula is it possible to turn it into a peace zone free from the danger of a war, stabilize the situation in Northeast Asia and create conditions and environment favorable for peace and security in Asia and the rest of the world. The replacement of the AA by a peace treaty is a precondition for defusing the hostile relations between the DPRK and the U.S. and, furthermore, averting a war and bringing peace to the peninsula. 20th June 2010. History Society of DPRK urge U.S. to sign peace treaty See: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-06/20/c_13359437.htm The History Society of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Sunday urged the United States to replace the Korean Armistice Agreement with a peace treaty, the official KCNA news agency reported. "The U.S. should stop the acts of threatening peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, falsifying the truth of history, immediately disband the 'UN Command' and replace the Korean Armistice Agreement with a peace treaty," the group said in a statement. May 21st 2010. Excerpt from statement by the DPRK Foreign Ministry as reported by KCNA It is the invariable policy of the DPRK to realize the denuclearization of the peninsula and protect the stability and peace of the region but it will not allow any slightest act to infringe upon its sovereignty and right to existence. May 13th 2010. Statement in newspaper Rodong Sinmun But the most acute military confrontation in the world persists on the peninsula. Huge U.S. forces are permanently present in south Korea and in its vicinity, watching for a chance to ignite a nuclear war against the DPRK anytime. It is thanks to the strong military power of the DPRK that the second Korean war, nuclear war, has not broken out on the peninsula. But for the DPRK's powerful war deterrent, the Koreans would have suffered the same war disaster as Iraqis did long ago. The Korean people are now building a socialist thriving nation to be proud of before the world despite the persistent politico-military pressure and sanctions of the U.S.-led international reactionary allied forces. The sanctions and military pressure, however, never work on the DPRK. The U.S. should not pay lip-service to the peace and stability on the peninsula but show its will by responding to the DPRK's proposal for concluding a peace treaty. May 8th 2010. Excerpt from KCNA report on Kim Jong-Il.s visit to China Kim Jong Il expressed the DPRK's willingness to provide favorable conditions for the resumption of the six-party talks together with other parties to the talks, declaring that the DPRK remains unchanged in its basic stand to preserve the aim of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, implement the joint statement adopted at the six-party talks and pursue a peaceful solution through dialogue. April 28th 2010. Excerpt from article in North Korea newspaper Rodong Sinmun See: http://www.kcna.co.jp/index-e.htm for April28th 2010 "The tense situation in the region is just like a time bomb ready to go off any moment as it poses a constant threat to peace and security in Northeast Asia and, furthermore, in the Asia-Pacific region. Only when the leftovers of the Cold War era are eliminated from the peninsula is it possible to turn it into a peace zone free from the danger of a war, stabilize the situation in Northeast Asia and create conditions and environment favorable for peace and security in Asia and the rest of the world. The replacement of the AA by a peace treaty is a precondition for defusing the hostile relations between the DPRK and the U.S. and, furthermore, averting a war and bringing peace to the peninsula." April 21st 2010. Excerpt from Statement made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of DPRK entitled “Korean Peninsula and Nuclear” See: http://www.kcna.co.jp/index-e.htm for April 21st 2010. "Consistent is the stand of the DPRK government to build a lasting peace regime on the peninsula and denuclearize it…….The denuclearization presupposes confidence-building. An earlier conclusion of a peace treaty on the Korean Peninsula still in the state of ceasefire would help build confidence needed for denuclearization as early as possible. The mission of the nuclear armed forces of the DPRK is to deter and repulse aggression and attack on the country and the nation till the nuclear weapons are eliminated from the peninsula and the rest of the world. The DPRK has invariably maintained the policy not to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states or threaten them with nukes as long as they do not join nuclear weapons states in invading or attacking it." April 14th. US Urged to Promptly Opt for Concluding Peace Treaty. Statement in Rodong Sinmun newspaper. http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2010/201004/news14/20100414-13ee.html “To conclude a peace treaty is the only reasonable and realistic way for the successful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. It is not possible to dissolve distrust for an indefinite period nor is it possible to ensure the smooth progress of talks, much less achieving denuclearization as long as parties concerned are technically at war with their guns leveled at each other. Had a durable peace regime been established on the Korean Peninsula earlier, there would not have surfaced the nuclear issue nor the denuclearization issue been raised. The conclusion of a peace treaty would help dissolve the hostile relations between the DPRK and the U.S. and give a powerful impetus to the process for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. There is no doubt that just a start of the negotiations for concluding a peace treaty would provide an effective engine for advancing the process of denuclearization. If the U.S. truly hopes for the denuclearization of the peninsula, it should stop insisting on the unrealistic assertion that the DPRK "dismantle its nuclear weapons first," though belatedly, and promptly respond to concluding a peace treaty with the DPRK.” April 9th 2010. Foreign Ministry Dismisses US Nuclear Plan. See: http://www.kcna.co.jp/index-e.htm for April 9th 2010. “A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of the DPRK gave the following answer to a question put by KCNA Friday as regards the U.S. publication of its "Nuclear Posture Review": The review made public on April 6 proves that the present U.S. administration still regards nukes as a mainstay in carrying out its strategy for world domination…… The denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is the invariable goal of the DPRK. If the peninsula and the rest of the world are to be denuclearized, the U.S. should stop such hostile acts as trampling down upon other countries' sovereignty and right to existence, pursuant to its policy of strength based on nuclear supremacy. What is most urgent is for the U.S. to roll back its hostile policy towards the DPRK in practice, not with an empty talk, and take a confidence-building measure…… The U.S. should know that gone are the days never to return when the DPRK was only exposed to the blackmail and pressure slapped by the former on the strength of its nuclear weapons.” March 2nd 2010. DPRK Ambassador Jon Yong Ryong speaking to the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE6211CZ20100302 "The nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula should be settled between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the United States from every aspect as it is a product of the hostile policy of the U.S. towards the DPRK," Jon told the Geneva forum. "It is a pipedream to expect that the DPRK will dismantle its nuclear programme without the U.S. dropping its hostile policy towards the DPRK." 21st January 2010. The conclusion of a peace treaty would mean the first step toward creating a peaceful environment on the Korean Peninsula. This is not the issue different from the issue of the denuclearization of the peninsula. The settlement of the issue of establishing a peace-keeping regime would lead to automatically solving other matters guaranteeing the peace process on the peninsula. In the past a series of discussions including the six-party talks for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula had been held for six years, undergoing up and down and repeated failures. As their course indicates, this was attributable not to the order of action but to their failure to properly settle the fundamental issue. It is the main purport and stand of the DPRK's proposal for concluding a peace treaty to build confidence to facilitate the denuclearization of the peninsula. The conclusion of a peace treaty would mark the beginning of confidence-building and provide an occasion of wiping out distrust between the DPRK and the U.S. and establishing the relations of bilateral respect and equality in its course. January 11th 2010. Excerpt from statement released by the DPRK Foreign Ministry. http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2010/201001/news11/20100111-03ee.html “It is our conclusion that it is necessary to pay primary attention to building confidence between the DPRK and the United States, the parties chiefly responsible for the nuclear issue, in order to bring back the process for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula on track. If confidence is to be built between the DPRK and the US, it is essential to conclude a peace treaty for terminating the state of war, a root cause of the hostile relations, to begin with. When the parties are in the state of war where they level guns at each other, distrust in the other party can never be wiped out and the talks themselves can never make smooth progress, much less realizing the denuclearization. Without settling such essential and fundamental issue as war and peace no agreement can escape from frustration and failure as now. The peace treaty by nature should have been already concluded in the light of its intrinsic necessity, regardless of the nuclear issue. Had durable peace regime been established on the Korean Peninsula long ago, the nuclear issue would have not surfaced. Now that the issue of concluding the peace treaty is mentioned in the September 19 Joint Statement, too, it is good to move up the order of action as required by practice in the light of the lesson drawn from the failure of the six-party talks. The conclusion of the peace treaty will help terminate the hostile relations between the DPRK and the US and positively promote the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula at a rapid tempo. Upon authorization, the DPRK Foreign Ministry courteously proposes to the parties to the Armistice Agreement an early start of the talks for replacing the AA by the peace treaty this year which marks the lapse of 60 years since the outbreak of the Korean War.” January 1st 2010. Excerpt from a joint editorial in Rodong Sinmun, Josoninmingun and Chongnyonjonwi (North Korean Newspapers) http://www.ncnk.org/resources/publications/KCNA_January_2010_New_Years_Editorial.doc/file_view “The fundamental task for ensuring peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the rest of Asia is to put an end to the hostile relationship between the DPRK and the USA. It is the consistent stand of the DPRK to establish a lasting peace system on the Korean Peninsula and make it nuclear-free through dialogue and negotiations.”
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