North Korea tells UN of mutual distrust but says it will endure on its own efforts

North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son Gyong used the UN General Assembly to lament global confrontation, tout self-reliance and defend the country's nuclear deterrent while making no direct threats.

North Korea used its yearly United Nations platform on Monday to warn world leaders of a harsh reality rampant with unprecedented mutual distrust and confrontation, but said it would endure and, in a multilateral world, surely attain all that it plans, relying entirely on its own efforts.

It was, by Pyongyang's standards, a relatively mild speech that contained no direct threats. The annual opportunity for the country, whose formal name is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, to speak on the world stage fell this year to Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son Gyong. He addressed the 81st session of the UN General Assembly at UN headquarters on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, according to AP Photo credits by Yuki Iwamura.

North Korea Advocates Multilateralism

Like many nations, Kim touted the notion of UN-focused multilateralism, yet repeatedly insisted that North Korea could and would, if necessary, go it alone. Gone are the days when an individual member state unilaterally imposed its will on the rest of the world and dominated the international political arena, Kim said. Instead, multilateralism and multipolarization have emerged as an irresistible aspiration and trend of the times based on justice and equity, he added.

North Korea is frequently at odds with South Korea, Japan and the United States, which are tightly aligned in matters of security in East Asia. Kim asserted once again that his nation, no matter the external threat, is prepared to defend itself. No physical conflict has occurred on and around the Korean Peninsula, a hot spot of the world, and the security index is being maintained at a higher level than any other part of the globe, he said.

We owe it to the fact that the DPRK has a war deterrent in place powerful enough to break anyone's will to start a war of aggression against the DPRK and that we are thoroughly containing and managing the hostile forces' intention to use force, Kim said. As is typical for North Korean speeches at the UN, and for many nations' speeches, Kim's remarks ranged across the nation's priorities and goals, with special emphasis on its ability to defend itself in a volatile security situation in East Asia.

Criticism of Japan and UN Paralysis

A sampling of his remarks: On Japan, he called it an A-class war criminal. On the regional balance of power in East Asia, he said it is maintained by the DPRK's self-defensive capabilities. On the United Nations itself, Kim said the organization still fails to recover from functional paralysis owing to the high-handedness and unilateralism of a handful of countries pursuing only chauvinistic interests.

On nuclear weapons, he said the DPRK's nuclear deterrent is the absolute might and irresistible force designed, from A to Z, to safeguard the sovereignty, security and peace against aggression and threat from outside. The DPRK will continue to strictly control and manage every external threat by dint of her supremacy in overwhelming strength, Kim said. North Korea's rhetoric is often overheated and its criticism of rivals often over the top. Monday was no exception.

What seemed noteworthy, though, was how pro forma it felt: There were no threats of anything that might destabilize the region or cause other nations from Japan to South Korea to the United States to brace for any specific moves. Saying that a more offensive and aggressive military bloc with a nuclear element and its activities have provoked North Korea and destabilized the Korean Peninsula, Kim condemned what he framed as the collusion of Tokyo, Seoul and Washington against Pyongyang.

Missile Launches Before Speech

He made no mention of North Korea's role in tensions on the peninsula, including sporadic missile launches that send its rivals scrambling. Two days before the UN meeting in which he was speaking began, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea, days after it threatened to bolster its nuclear deterrent capabilities.

Kim is a relatively mid-level official in leader Kim Jong Un's third-generation government, and thus spoke as one of the final speakers of the final day of the leaders' meeting, or General Debate. The Korean Peninsula split in two after North Korea and South Korea fought a bloody war from 1950 to 1953, backed by China and the United States, respectively.

Though an armistice was eventually signed, the two countries remain in a technical state of war, and the border between them is guarded by a heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone. Ted Anthony of The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Compiled from 2 sourcesCompiled by HeadTopics editors by cross-checking the verified news reports listed here.

CP24 CTVNews:In a relatively mild speech, North Korea uses UN platform to lament 'mutual distrust' and tension

This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.

North Korea UN Speech Kim Son Gyong Korean Peninsula Tensions DPRK Nuclear Deterrent UN General Assembly 2026

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