North Korea assumes the position of chairman of the Conference on Disarmament

Korean Ambassador to the United Nations Han Tae Song – Photo: GETTY IMAGES

“North Korea is committed to contributing to global peace and disarmament and values ​​the summit’s efforts,” North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations Han Tae Song told the conference.

Han stressed it was an “honor” for North Korea to take on this role, Reuters news agency reported.

According to AFP news agency, the CD rotating presidency follows the alphabetical order of member states in English.

CD is not an agency of the United Nations, but the conference is held three times a year at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. It is the only permanent and multilateral body that negotiates the world’s nuclear and weapons.

The overarching goal of the conference was to end the nuclear arms race and prevent nuclear war. However, this conference has not reached any agreement since 1996.

North Korea will hold the CD presidency for at least the next three weeks, according to the BBC.

North Korea’s assumption of the CD presidency has been met with opposition from some members of the body.

After repeatedly stressing that North Korea was aware of some public opposition to its CD presidency, Ambassador Han reiterated his stance on North Korea’s right to self-defence against “threats” from the United States. .

“No country has the right to criticize or interfere in a country’s defense policy,” Han stressed.

The North Korean ambassador also added that North Korea is still “in a state of war with the US”.