Pyongyang, February 26 (KCNA) -- The Permanent Mission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to the United Nations on February 22 issued the following press statement with regard to the inappropriate remarks made by the UN secretary-general against the DPRK at the Munich Security Conference:
As is known to all, the UN secretary-general, in his address at the Security Conference held in Munich of Germany, made senseless remarks about the so-called "pressure through sanctions" against the DPRK, while referring to the strengthening of nuclear force of the DPRK as contradiction to the will of the international community.

This is completely unreasonable sophistry that does not befit at all his position as UN secretary-general, giving us an impression that he is an advocate of the United States.

The nuclear issue of the Korean peninsula came into being and reached the present point, entirely due to the U.S., and thus, the U.S. should bear full responsibility for it.

The nuclear issue of the Korean peninsula would not have been brought up at all, if there had not been anti-DPRK hostile policy pursued by the U.S. from the first day of the foundation of the DPRK and if the hostile policy had not been developed to take the form of undisguised nuclear blackmail and threats against the DPRK.

The remarks of the secretary-general cannot be construed otherwise than a disgraceful behavior driven by extreme prejudice and injustice, as he condemned the righteous measure of the DPRK, without saying a word about the U.S., a culprit of aggravated situation, intentionally turning a blind eye to the essence and its underlying cause of the nuclear issue of the Korean peninsula.

The secretary-general should be clearly aware that nuclear threats come from the U.S. that is developing all kinds of sophisticated nuclear weapons and exposing its wild ambition for nuclear preemptive strike, and he would be well advised not to behave like somnambulist.

Our state nuclear force serves as strong deterrent to any nuclear threat and reckless military provocation of the U.S., and therefore, it will never pose threat to any country or region unless they infringe upon the sovereignty and interests of the DPRK.

If the secretary-general is truly interested in addressing the nuclear issue of the Korean peninsula, it would be advisable that he immediately bring to the attention of the UN Security Council the issue of welcoming the process of improved inter-Korean relations and discouraging neighboring countries from disturbing the process, as has been requested by the letter dated 31 January of the DPRK foreign minister forwarded to the secretary-general.