01/30/2004 17:15 FAX
DemocraticPeople's Republic of Korea
PERMANENT MISSION TO THE UNITEDNATIONS
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Cour internationalede Justice
Enregistréau Greffe le
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InternationalCourt of Justice
Filedin the Registr:on
No. 's
The Permanent Representative of the DemocraticPeople's Republic of Korea
to the United Nations presents his compliments to the President of the
lnternational Court of Justice and hasthe honorto be authorized to submit to the
lnternational Court of Justice the legal opinion of the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea aegardingthe construction of the walby Jsrael.
First, the construction of the wall by Isris anattempt to coercively annex
theOccupied PalestinianTemtory and split the Palestinian natiow nh,ichis totally
contrary to UN General Assembly resolutions, in particular General Assembly
resolution2625 of 24 October 1970.
The above-mentioned resolution "Declaration on the principles of
InternationalLaw concerning Friendly ReIations and Cooperation amongStates in
accordance with the Charter of the United Nations" stipulates that everyState has
the dutyto refrainfrom the threat or use of force to violate international lines of
demarcation, such asarmistice lines, establisheby or pursuant toan international
agreement.
The de facto annexation of the Occupied Palestinian Temitory interferewith
the tenitonal sovereignty and consequently with the right of the Palestinians to
self-determination.
Second, the construction of the wall isin outrageous contradiction of the
Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of CivilianPersons in Time of Warof 12August 1949,as itrepresents an infnngement onhuman rightsof the
Palestinian people and causesthe crisis ohumanitarianism.
Article 49 of Section 3 of Part 3 of the said Convention provides that
individual or mass forcible transfets, as well as deportations of protected persons
from occupied
tmritory to the territory of the Occupyin Pgower or to that of any other country,
occupied or not, are prohibitedregardlessof theirmotive.
ThePermanentRepresentative ofthe Democratic People's Republic ofKorea
to the United Nations wiçhes to take this opportunity todraw the attention ofthe
International Court ofJusticeto the fact thatherehas long existed the wallaimed
at partitioning Korea artificially.
That is threinforced concrete wallbuilt along thcMilitaryDemarcation Line
in thearea of thesouth on the Korean peninsula in1979.
It idesirable that the International Court of Justice and the MembStates of
the United Nations should be also concemed about the removal of the reinforced
concrete wall whichrepresents the symbol of the division of the Korean nation.
TniePermanent Representative of the Democratic PeopIe's Republic of
Korea to the United Nations avails himself of this opportunity to rencwto the
President of the International Court of Justice the assurances of his highest
consideration.
New York, 29 January 2004
President
InternationalCour tfJustice
PeacePalace
2517 KJ The Hague
The Netberlands
Letter dated 29 January 2004 from the Permanent Mission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to the United Nations