FM Ri Yong Ho Makes Speech at Ministerial Meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum

Pyongyang, August 9 (KCNA) -- DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho made a speech at the Ministerial Meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum held in Manila, Philippines on August 7. Noting it is important above all to establish a right view with correct understanding of the essence of the nuclear issue of the Korean peninsula, he said: To all intents and purposes, the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula is the one that was created and developed into the present phase today because of the U.S. whose responsibility also solely lies with the U.S. The DPRK's possession of nukes and ICBM is a legitimate option for self-defence in the face of clear and real nuclear threat posed by the U.S. against the DPRK. However, the U.S. rigged up several "sanctions resolutions" against the DPRK at the UN Security Council, thus disguising the issue as one between the DPRK and UN. To our people who experienced disastrous disturbances of war on the Korean peninsula by the U.S., the powerful war deterrence for national defense is an inevitable strategic option and it is a precious strategic asset that can neither be reversed nor bartered for anything. We will, under no circumstances, put the nukes and ballistic rockets on negotiating table. Neither shall we flinch even an inch from the road to bolstering up the nuclear forces chosen by ourselves, unless the hostile policy and nuclear threat of the U.S. against the DPRK are fundamentally eliminated. This time also, the U.S. fabricated a new "sanctions resolution" against the DPRK in the UN Security Council. The DPRK has already made its position clear that it will respond with strong follow-up measures and acts of justice. -0-