Choe Ryong Hae, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), first vice-chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, who is leading a delegation of the DPRK, made a speech at the 18th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement.

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a powerful independent force against imperialism, a peace-loving force against war, he said, and went on:

The NAM has played a significant role in achieving independence and progress of the developing countries and safeguarding global peace and security.

The present international situation bears a resemblance to the early days of Cold War between the East and the West when the NAM was born.

Now is the time when the NAM Member States should turn out in the resolute fight for building a peaceful and prosperous world, an independent and just world, braving through the challenges with concerted efforts.

Now the situation on the Korean peninsula is at a critical crossroad of either moving towards durable peace along with the trend of détente or facing again a touch-and-go crisis.

A year has passed since the adoption of June 12 DPRK-U.S. Joint Statement. But the DPRK-U.S. relations see no improvement and the situation on the Korean peninsula is still caught up in the vicious cycle of escalated tension. This is ascribable to the U.S. pursuit of its anachronistic policy hostile to the DPRK and its continued political and military provocations.

Comrade Kim Jong Un, chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK, stated in his historic policy speech in April that there is a need for the U.S. to quit its current method of calculation and approach us with a new one.

We believe that preventing war and achieving durable peace on the Korean peninsula fully accord with the ideals of the NAM and it will also contribute to safeguarding global peace and security.

In view of its mission and ideals, the NAM is a group for international justice, and it is a force that has potential to realize international justice.

We take that a most pressing task now for the NAM is to struggle for realizing a genuine international justice.

If international justice is not realized, the purposes and principles enshrined in the UN Charter will be reduced to a blank sheet of paper, and worse still, the sovereignty and the right to existence of small countries and NAM member states will never be guaranteed.

The countries, which value justice, should build on their strength on the principle of self-reliance and self-development and bring earlier a new independent and just world by uniting and cooperating with each other under the banner of anti-imperialism and independence.

Along with the political unity, the NAM Member States should develop South-South cooperation by strengthening exchange and collaboration by regions and continents on the principles of equality, mutual benefits and complementing one another.

In the face of ever-increasing sanctions and pressure of the hostile forces to deprive our Republic of its sovereignty and right to development, the people of the DPRK are making dynamic efforts to build a powerful socialist country by dint of self-reliance and self-development.

The Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will discharge its responsibility and role as a member state of NAM to invariably maintain the purity and ideals of the Movement, further develop the friendly and cooperative relations with its member states and strengthen and develop the Movement.

Rodong Sinmun