He said:

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has signed the Paris Agreement. It stems from its intention to join the international efforts to resolve the issue of climate change as well as from its belief that the Agreement will be successfully implemented.

A touch-and-go dangerous situation prevails on the Korean peninsula due to the reckless nuclear war drills by the U.S. and its followers and their vicious attempts to stifle the DPRK by means of sanctions. Even under such circumstances, the DPRK government is exerting its great efforts to make active contributions to the protection of the global environment.

Following the farsighted vision and outstanding leadership of the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un, first Chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK, we have declared the reforestation as a war with nature and are engaged in an all-our campaign a nationwide scale.

The DPRK has set a plan to afforest and reforest 1.67 million hectares of mountain areas by 2024, which means a yearly capacity of reducing 10 million tons of greenhouse gas will be newly created by means of forest's efficient absorption of the greenhouse gas.

It is also under the national attention that the DPRK government is formulating a workable plan to decrease the greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, a target to be voluntarily observed under the Paris Agreement.

The DPRK government will continue to pay due attention to resolve the issue of global climate change under the principle of giving priority to the sound development of the economy and improvement of people's living standard.

The goals set forth by the Paris Agreement are not easy to achieve nor can they be reached by themselves.

Signing of the Agreement is of significance, but what is more important is for all the signatories to work together with political commitment to accomplish the goals.

In this regard, the DPRK delegation believes we have to pay the foremost attention to the following issues.

First, in order to resolve the global environmental problem, it is crucial to pay primary attention to ensuring peace and security of the world.

The current extremely dangerous situation on the Korean Peninsula caused by the U.S. consistent nuclear war drills shows that, without ensuring world peace and stability, we cannot expect successful solution to any other issues.

Second, economic powers that are responsible for most of global greenhouse gas emissions have to make voluntary plans to dramatically reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and faithfully implement their plans.

Right now, majority of the global carbon emissions is produced by only a handful of countries. Such being the situation, it is self-evident that, without sincere efforts and contributions from these countries, we cannot achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Third, the developed countries should feel their historical responsibilities of the current climate change and support the developing countries in the efforts to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions.

It is important to take practical steps to implement the Paris Agreement including establishment of an institutional mechanism to raise sufficient funds for the global efforts for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

As a signatory to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change, the DPRK will continue to fulfil its responsibilities and duties in the efforts to protect the global environment and resolve the climate change problem.