A plenary meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Anti-Money Laundering, an international financial supervisory body, was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from November 1 to 3.

Adopted at this meeting were an "open statement", that runs through with stereo-typed allegations such as the DPRK's failure to address the deficiencies in its anti-money laundering, and an additional "statement" calling for effective implementation of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) "resolutions" in order to stop the DPRK's financing of proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs).

We strongly reject these statements as an unjust measure taken by the FAFT which has become extremely politicized due to the pressure from the U.S.

The U.S. tried to justify its financial sanctions against the DPRK by sticking the "accusation of money laundering" to our country, making an evil use of the international financial supervisory body, and now it is making a wicked move to block financial transactions of our country by establishing the UNSC "sanctions resolutions" against the DPRK as "international standards" and coercing the member states into their implementation.

The fact that the additional "statement" on "the threat posed by the DPRK's financing of proliferation of WMDs" adopted at the meeting copied relevant paragraphs word for word from the UNSC "sanctions resolutions" against the DPRK is a clear testimony to that.

Behind the scene of adopting FATF statements lies the ulterior criminal motive of the U.S. to block all financial activities of our country, whether they are for civilian or military purpose, by calling them as a violation of the UNSC "sanctions resolution" against the DPRK in order to hinder the strengthening of our nuclear forces.

If the DPRK's possession of nuclear weapons, a righteous means for self-defense, should be branded as proliferation of WMDs and as a result its normal financial transactions with other countries be labeled as financing proliferation, it is palpably clear that the U.S., who has deployed tens, even hundreds of nuclear weapons in all parts of the world and even now is lavishing astronomical amount of funds on their maintenance and modernization, is indeed the chief culprit in financing proliferation of WMDs.

The DPRK, as a responsible nuclear weapons state, will continue in the future to actively join the international efforts for anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism and proliferation of WMDs. However, we will never tolerate any attempt to deprive us of nuclear weapons.