In a relatively mild speech, North Korea uses UN platform to lament 'mutual distrust' and tension

platform on Monday to warn other world leaders of “a harsh reality rampant with unprecedented mutual distrust and confrontation,” but said that it would endure and, in a multilateral world, “surely attain all that we plan to, relying entirely on our own efforts.” It was, by Pyongyang’s standards, a relatively mild speech that contained no direct threats. The annual opportunity for the country, whose formal name is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, to speak on the world stage fell this year to Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son Gyong. Like many nations, he touted the notion of U.N.-focused multilateralism, yet repeatedly insisted that North Korea could — and would, if necessary — go it alone.

“Gone are the days when an individual member state unilaterally imposed its will on the rest of the world and dominated the international political arena,” Kim said. “Instead, multilateralism and multipolarization have emerged as an irresistible aspiration and trend of the times based on justice and equity.” North Korea is frequently at odds with South Korea, Japan and the United States, which are tightly aligned in matters of security in East Asia. Kim asserted once again that his nation, no matter the external threat, is prepared to defend itself.

“No physical conflict has occurred on and around the Korean Peninsula, a hot spot of the world, and the security index is being maintained at a higher level than any other part of the globe,” he said. “We owe it to the fact that the DPRK has a war deterrent in place powerful enough to break anyone’s will to start a war of aggression against the DPRK and that we are thoroughly containing and managing the hostile forces’ intention to use force.” A range of remarks across subjects As is typical for North Korean speeches at the U.N. — and, for that matter, for many nations’ speeches — Kim’s remarks ranged across the nation’s priorities and goals, with special emphasis on its ability to defend itself in a volatile security situation in East Asia.

A sampling: — On Japan: “An A-class war criminal.” — On the regional balance of power in East Asia: “maintained by the DPRK’s self-defensive capabilities.” — On the United Nations itself: “The organization still fails to recover from functional paralysis owing to the high-handedness and unilateralism of a handful of countries pursuing only chauvinisti…