The statement said:

Kim Jong Un in his New Year Address called for holding fast to the standpoint of By Our Nation Itself, making positive efforts to defend national security and peace and establishing a favorable climate for improved relations between the north and the south of Korea.

His proposal for national reunification is the most just, realistic and principled one to improve the inter-Korean ties, ensure peace and bring earlier Korea's reunification.

The south Korean authorities should immediately stop inciting the confrontation with their compatriots in the north and escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula while clinging to coattails of foreign forces.

In his New Year Address he said that the DPRK can never just sit back with folded arms and see the dark clouds of a nuclear war coming to hover over the peninsula, declaring that it would defend its sovereignty, peace and dignity by relying on its powerful self-defensive strength.

The statement expressed conviction that the Korean people would register greater achievements this year in their efforts to bolster up its defense capabilities, build a thriving nation and reunify the country.