Dem. People's Rep. of Korea

Mr. Chairman, 

Distinguished delegates, 

Allow me to begin by expressing deep thanks to the secretariat of the ITU and the government of Romania for their active efforts for successful holding of this Plenipotentiary Conference 2022, despite the global pandemic. 

Information and communications technology(ICT) plays the leading role in the rapidly evolving socio-economic development and its role becomes all the more important today when the pandemic is sweeping all over the world.  

The delegation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea(DPRK) hopes that this Conference will become a significant occasion to deliberate on the Strategic Plan 2024~2027 of the ITU on the basis of the past experiences and lessons and to set a clear roadmap for the development of ICT that is more inclusive and popular. 

Mr. Chairman 

Under the wise leadership of Comrade Kim Jong Un, President of the State Affairs of the DPRK, the goal of modernizing the ICT field by 2025 has been set and its implementation work is now pushed ahead at full swing in our country, by holding fast to science and technology as the lifeline for socio-economic development. 

We have built the optical fiber network which covers even the smallest administrative units, thus providing reliable infrastructure for successful fixed broadband services. The mobile broadband network has been established throughout the country, making mobile services and their various applications available to all the people.  

Thanks to the digital TV broadcasting network, everybody has a full access to high-definition TV services and the dynamic development of fixed and mobile broadband has given much room for expansion to digital application services such as digitalization of government work, remote education and tele-medicine, e-commerce and e-payment. 

In the face of the current global health crisis caused by COVID-19, the work of connecting all schools throughout the country to the national     e-database network is vigorously pushed forward to expand e-education system nationwide. 

The government of the DPRK will develop and introduce advanced cutting edge high-tech including the next generation mobile communications technology and further perfect the IT infrastructure, so as to upgrade the level of modernization of ICT still higher to ensure all the people benefit from it. 

At the same time, our government will continue to promote international exchanges and cooperation within the framework of the Two Strategic Goals of Comprehensive Universal Connectivity and Sustainable Digital Transformation reflected in the new ITU strategic plan. 

As I extend my warm greetings to all participants here, I would like to conclude by reaffirming my conviction that the current Conference will serve as a meaningful occasion for sharing experiences gained in implementing the Strategic Plan adopted in 2018 and contributing to drawing up the future Strategic Plan.  

Thank you.