Pakistan urges dialogue to promote peace on restive Korean peninsula

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has called for dialogue and negotiations to foster peace in the tension-ridden Korean peninsula, saying such a course must provide equal security for all states in the region.

“We remain opposed to any destabilizing actions that give rise to tensions on the Peninsula,” Ambassador Aamir Khan, acting Pakistani permanent representative to the UN, said on Friday while speaking at a first-of-its-kind debate in the General Assembly.

The debate was held under new rules requiring the General Assembly to examine any veto wielded in the Security Council by one of its five permanent members. It was triggered after China and Russia vetoed a United States-backed Security Council draft resolution on 26 May aimed at tightening sanctions against North Korea over its renewed ballistic missile launches.

Both China and Russia defended their vetoes, blaming the United States for rising tensions on the Korean peninsula and insisting that what is needed now is a dialogue between North Korea and the Biden administration. They also said that more sanctions would only increase the suffering of the Korean people.

In his remarks, Ambassador Aamir Khan said that Pakistan had consistently supported the endeavour to promote peace and stability in and around the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and negotiations, as envisaged in bilateral and multilateral agreements endorsed by the Security Council.

“Such a dialogue must be aimed at assuring equal security for all states in a denuclearized Korean Peninsula,” the Pakistani envoy added.

“We call for adherence to the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, mutual restraint by all sides, and the earliest possible revival of the interrupted Six-Party negotiating process.”

Pakistan, he said, also takes note of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in North Korea, especially in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and calls for humanitarian assistance to those in need of such assistance irrespective of political considerations.

“It is our view that both security and humanitarian challenges can be best addressed through dialogue and diplomacy. An approach based on constructive engagement may better yield productive results,” Aamir Khan said in conclusion.