Stating that had a durable peace regime been established on the Korean Peninsula long ago, the nuclear issue would not have surfaced, the DPRK ambassador in the press conference referred to the tenor of the statement which contains the important proposal of the DPRK for peace and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

He said:

The DPRK government has always made every effort for peace, security and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the rest of Northeast Asia, true to the behests of President Kim Il Sung.

However, the implementation of all the agreements stopped halfway or was overturned.

The total overturn of the process for the denuclearization of the peninsula was ascribable to lack of the principle of respect for sovereignty and equality which are the core of the September 19 Joint Statement.

The U.S. and others have failed to smoothly perform their obligations assigned at the six-party talks while imposing their unilateral demands on the DPRK.

The course of the six-party talks which witnessed repeated frustrations and failures proves that the issue can never be settled without confidence among the parties concerned.

It is our conclusion that priority should be given to building confidence between the DPRK and the United States, the parties chiefly responsible for the nuclear issue, to bring back the process for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula on track.

If confidence is to be built between the DPRK and the U.S., it is essential to conclude a peace treaty for terminating the state of war, a root cause of the hostile relations, to begin with.