A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) issued the following press statement on April 2:

A few days ago, the UN Human Rights Council adopted another illegal “resolution” malignantly pulling up the DPRK over its human rights situation.

The “resolution”, cooked up at the initiative of those countries habituated to inveterate repugnancy toward the DPRK, is a political fraud document full of false data that totally distorted the DPRK’s policy for ensuring genuine human rights and its actual situation.

The DPRK Ministry of Foreign Affairs brands the adoption of this anti-DPRK “human rights resolution” as a grave political provocation to the dignity and sovereignty of the DPRK and denounces and rejects it in the strongest terms.

In the DPRK where the state has promoted the people’s rights and well-being in an entirely responsible manner, genuine human rights are guaranteed in full accord with the independent demand and interests of the working masses.

The “human rights” racket, frequently kicked up in the UN arena by the hostile forces obsessed with prejudice against and malignant viewpoint on the DPRK, by no means represent the public sentiments of the international community aspiring after justice and equality. And the selective human rights discussion system targeting individual countries is a hostile act contrary to the spirit of the UN Charter which stipulates the principles of sovereignty equality and non-interference in internal affairs.

The practice of adopting such anti-DPRK “human rights resolution” which has lasted for 20-odd years is the very epitome of the deplorable present situation of the UN human rights arena extremely polluted by politicization, selectivity and double standards.

The urgent task facing the UN Human Rights Council at present is to thoroughly investigate the hideous unethical crimes caused by the hegemonic forces’ state-sponsored terrorism and infringement upon sovereignty and take practical measures for calling them to account.

In the Middle East, massacres are being committed one after another, dwarfing the crimes against humanity committed during the Second World War. Even children of more than a hundred who are to be specially protected in any case, have become the targets of precisely guided weapons to be killed. Such a tragedy is a daily occurrence in that region.

The cold reality, in which the international law, norms and order are grossly violated and the encroachment on national sovereignty is led to human rights abuses due to the hegemonic forces’ ambition for aggression, implants deep in the world people the iron truth that to defend the national sovereignty precisely means the defending of human rights.

The DPRK remains unchanged in its stand to defend in every way the dignity and sovereignty of the state and the rights and interests of the people from any threat and smear campaign of the hostile forces.

The recent malicious behavior of those countries, who were involved in slandering and insulting the most popular and righteous state and social system of the DPRK while blindly following the hostile forces, will be surely taken into account.

The DPRK will as ever remain faithful to its responsibility and mission to thoroughly guarantee the peace, well-being and genuine right to life of its people.