Remarks
Secretary of State
SECRETARY TILLERSON: Thank you. I’d like to take a moment to respond to the statements of the DPRK permanent representative. First, I think we have heard all of these things before from this government. There is no doubt that the DPRK’s pursuit of a nuclear arsenal is in clear violation of international law, directly challenges the global nonproliferation regime, and greatly threatens international peace and security. This body has unanimously made these points for well over a decade now. The international community condemns North Korea’s pursuit of a nuclear arsenal, and we will never accept a nuclear North Korea.
The DPRK’s unlawful acts cannot be ignored, nor can they be explained away. The DPRK must be held accountable for its actions. And in that regard, any notion that the source of tensions on the peninsula are the fault of no one party – there is but one party that has carried out illegal detonation of nuclear devices; there is but one party that continues to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, overflying another sovereign nation, Japan, threatening civil aviation security because these launches are undertaken with no notification.
There is but one party that has been targeted with punishment and penalties through the most vigorous regime sanction ever enacted, and that is the Kim regime in North Korea. They alone are responsible for these tensions, they alone must take responsibility for these tensions, and they alone can solve these tensions.
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