Some time ago, the spokesperson for Canadian foreign ministry made a political provocation to us even touching upon “human rights issue” in the DPRK while expressing the position of fully supporting the UN “sanctions” against the DPRK.

We have never recognized “sanctions resolution” which was fabricated at the UNSC on the initiative of the U.S., and we have never retained a lingering hope to see the relief of sanctions.

However, we can’t remain indifferent to the Canadian authority which hurt the dignity of our state by uttering abusive words which only harm the relations between the two countries.

When it comes to Canada, it is a country which has paid dearly for having detained illegally the chief financial officer of Huawei Corporation, a Chinese enterprise for communication equipment, as dictated by the U.S. It is also a human rights criminal state with crime-woven past of massacring the students of the aboriginal people.

Historically, Canada took the lead in the moves to stifle the DPRK, following in the footsteps of the U.S.

We still remember this. In the 50s of the last century, a staggering number of 26,791 Canadian troops was dispatched to the Korean War across the Pacific at the instigation of the U.S. that wore helmets of the “UN forces”. It also mobilized all sorts of murderous military equipment to massacre our people in cold blood.

At the turn of the new century, the hostile policy of Canada towards the DPRK got more pronounced.

In August 2011, Canada enacted “Special Economic Measures Act” on prohibiting its import from and export to our country, on prohibiting financial service, transfer of technology, passage of ships and airplanes of our country through its territorial waters and air. And it still continues to extend its scope of application.

This year alone, Canada even made a military provocation of dispatching an escort ship and a patrol plane to the areas around the Korean peninsula under the pretext of monitoring the “violations of maritime sanctions” by invoking “Special Economic Measures Act” which is a Canadian carbon copy of the U.S. sanction laws against the DPRK.

On January 15, 2018, Canada held what is called Vancouver meeting on security and stability of the Korean peninsula under the participation of 20 countries including belligerent states of the Korean War and Japan, where it staged a farce of pledging to increase pressure on the DPRK until it stops nuclear program.

It is quite ridiculous that such an unsavory country is running amuck to find fault with us, oblivious of the fact that it is being forced upon unfair trade deal by the U.S.

20 years have passed since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the DPRK and Canada on February 1, 2001. However, bilateral relations have not yet thawed due to Canada’s stance of following the U.S. blindly.

If Canada truly cares about the development of relations with us, it would be well-advised to bring zeal to the implementation of “Roadmap Towards Stronger DPRK-Canada Relations”.

Otherwise, it will never get rid of its ignominious name as a “parrot” of the U.S., if it does toe the U.S. line like today.

Kim Jong Sik

Executive Director, Korean Canada Cooperation Agency