DPRK Will Actively Join in Int'l Efforts to Protect Global Environment: FM Ri Su Yong

  Pyongyang, December 9 (KCNA) -- DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong, head of the DPRK delegation, made a speech at the high-ranking officials' meeting of the UN Climate Change Conference held in Paris, France on December 7.
    He said that the climate change is not an issue confined to a certain country, but an urgent task to be tackled by the international community as it is a crucial matter affecting the coming generations and the future of humankind.
    He appreciated that measures to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts were reflected as one of the post-2015 SDGs adopted at the UN Summit in last September.
    He also welcomed the Paris Agreement as a result of series of negotiations.
    He stressed that the following should be attained in due process of achieving the goals of the agreement.
    First, it is of great importance for all the countries to correctly understand the global character of the climate change issue and pay primary attention to ensuring international unity in the efforts to addressing this issue.
    Second, it is necessary to foster international and regional cooperation in climate change mitigation, in particular, focusing on the provision of financial and technical assistance for the developing countries at an earliest date possible.
    Third, any egoistic and unfair preconditions should not be brought up while providing assistance through funds such as the Green Climate Fund and it is important to reject the politicization and comply with the principle of fairness in the implementation of international mechanisms such as the CDM.
    The DPRK government will continue to faithfully discharge its responsibilities as a party to the UNFCCC and actively engage itself in the international efforts to protect the global environment, he concluded. -0-