The 18th Nonaligned Summit Conference was held in Baku of Azerbaijan on the 25th and the 26th to hold higher the banner of unity and cooperation for peace against war and for independence against imperialism.

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Choe Ryong Hae Makes Speech at 18th NAM Summit

Choe Ryong Hae, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), first vice-chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, respectively met with Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez, president of the Republic of Cuba, Nicolas Maduro Moros, president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Hage Geingob, president of the Republic of Namibia, Tun Mahathir Bin Mohamad, prime minister of Malaysia, and K. P. Sharma Oli, prime minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, during the 18th NAM Summit

Comrade Choe Ryong Hae took part in the 18th NAM Summit held in Azerbaijan as the head of a delegation of the DPRK.

Comrade Choe Ryong Hae conveyed greetings of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, chairman of the WPK and chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK to the presidents of Cuba, Venezuela and Namibia and the prime ministers of Malaysia and Nepal.

The heads of the states and governments expressed their deep gratitude for the greetings and asked Choe Ryong Hae to convey to the respected Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un their heartfelt greetings and best wishes.

Referring to the successes made by the DPRK in building a powerful socialist country by dint of self-reliance under the wise leadership of Kim Jong Un, Choe Ryong Hae at the meetings underscored the need to boost the bilateral relations among the countries.

The Venezuelan president said that he keeps great reverence for the respected H.E. Kim Jong Un, adding that he will further develop the relations between the two countries in all fields and strengthen support and cooperation in the international arena including the United Nations.

The Namibian president said he remembers that H.E. President Kim Il Sung rendered material and moral support and encouragement for Namibia in the struggle for achieving its independence and building a new society and that he will always keep the honor of being received by Kim Il Sung during his visit to the DPRK in the past.

Recalling the time when he was received by H.E. President Kim Il Sung during his visit to Pyongyang in 1979, the Malaysian prime minister expressed his determination to positively develop the relations with the DPRK while regarding it as the life to maintain the independent stand in the external relations.

The prime minister of Nepal highly praised the Korean people for having achieved great successes in building a powerful socialist nation by dint of self-support and self-reliance under the leadership of H.E. Kim Jong Un, expressing full support to the Korean people in their struggle for reunifying the country against the foreign forces' interference.

Meanwhile, Choe Ryong Hae separately met with Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh, vice-president of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and Alounkeo Kittikhoun, minister to the Prime Minister's Office who is a special envoy of the president of the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

Comrade Choe Ryong Hae Makes Speech at 18th NAM Summit

Choe Ryong Hae, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), first vice-chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, who is leading a delegation of the DPRK, made a speech at the 18th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement.

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a powerful independent force against imperialism, a peace-loving force against war, he said, and went on:

The NAM has played a significant role in achieving independence and progress of the developing countries and safeguarding global peace and security.

The present international situation bears a resemblance to the early days of Cold War between the East and the West when the NAM was born.

Now is the time when the NAM Member States should turn out in the resolute fight for building a peaceful and prosperous world, an independent and just world, braving through the challenges with concerted efforts.

Now the situation on the Korean peninsula is at a critical crossroad of either moving towards durable peace along with the trend of détente or facing again a touch-and-go crisis.

A year has passed since the adoption of June 12 DPRK-U.S. Joint Statement. But the DPRK-U.S. relations see no improvement and the situation on the Korean peninsula is still caught up in the vicious cycle of escalated tension. This is ascribable to the U.S. pursuit of its anachronistic policy hostile to the DPRK and its continued political and military provocations.

Comrade Kim Jong Un, chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK, stated in his historic policy speech in April that there is a need for the U.S. to quit its current method of calculation and approach us with a new one.

We believe that preventing war and achieving durable peace on the Korean peninsula fully accord with the ideals of the NAM and i will also contribute to safeguarding global peace and security.

In view of its mission and ideals, the NAM is a group for international justice, and it is a force that has potential to realize international justice.

We take that a most pressing task now for the NAM is to struggle for realizing a genuine international justice.

If international justice is not realized, the purposes and principles enshrined in the UN Charter will be reduced to a blank sheet of paper, and worse still, the sovereignty and the right to existence of small countries and NAM member states will never be guaranteed.

The countries, which value justice, should build on their strength on the principle of self-reliance and self-development and bring earlier a new independent and just world by uniting and cooperating with each other under the banner of anti-imperialism and independence.

Along with the political unity, the NAM Member States should develop South-South cooperation by strengthening exchange and collaboration by regions and continents on the principles of equality, mutual benefits and complementing one another.

In the face of ever-increasing sanctions and pressure of the hostile forces to deprive our Republic of its sovereignty and right to development, the people of the DPRK are making dynamic efforts to build a powerful socialist country by dint of self-reliance and self-development.

The Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will discharge its responsibility and role as a member state of NAM to invariably maintain the purity and ideals of the Movement, further develop the friendly and cooperative relations with its member states and strengthen and develop the Movement.