The Permanent Representative of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to the United Nations sent a letter to the President of the UN Security Council on the 25th in connection with the provocative act committed by the Republic of Korea (ROK) on September 21, when it groundlessly shifted onto the Democratic People's Republic of Korea the responsibility for the mysterious “mine explosion incident” that occurred near our southern boundary line.

The letter revealed that the so-called “mine explosion incident” fabricated by the ROK is nothing but a sinister obstructive manoeuvre to denounce and delay and check the fortification of the southern border of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as a “military invasion,” and a self-staged farce to escape responsibility for aggravating the situation on the Korean Peninsula, and stressed as follows.

The fortification of the southern border being carried out by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is a self-defensive measure to safeguard the territorial security of the country from external threats of aggression, and a lawful and justifiable exercise of sovereignty thoroughly consistent with the UN Charter and international law.

Nevertheless, the ROK is not hesitating to commit extremely reckless provocative acts, including firing shots that seriously threaten the lives and safety of our service personnel mobilized for the border fortification work.

This constitutes a serious violation of Article 2, Paragraph 4 of the UN Charter, which stipulates that all countries shall refrain from the use or threat of force against the territorial integrity of any state in international relations.

We remind that, should the Republic of Korea encroach even one millimetre upon the territory of our state or commit direct provocative acts harming the safety and lives of our personnel, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has the legitimate right to exercise the right of self-defence as set forth in Article 51 of the UN Charter.

Should the Republic of Korea, despite our warnings, infringe upon the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the responsibility for all consequences arising therefrom will rest entirely with the Republic of Korea.