Oleh/By		:	DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD 
Tempat/Venue 	: 	PARLIAMENT HOUSE, KUALA LUMPUR 
Tarikh/Date 	:	11/02/82 
Tajuk/Title  	: 	THE DINNER IN HONOUR OF HIS 
			EXCELLENCY MR. LI JONG OK, PREMIER 
			OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL OF THE 
			DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE 




Your Excellency Premier Li Jong Ok; Gentlemen.

Let me first of all take this opportunity to extend to Your Excellency and
members of your delegation a warm welcome to Malaysia. This is the first
time that a Premier of the Administrative Council of the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea is visiting Malaysia. We are indeed honoured by
your visit. I hope that the few days stay that Your Excellency will have
with us will be both pleasant and memorable.

2. Your Excellency's visit is an important milestone in the development of
our bilateral relations.

Indeed, it will provide us with another useful occasion for our two
countries to follow up on the contacts that have been developed since we
established diplomatic relations in 1973. There have been several
exchanges of visits between Malaysia and the Democratic People's Republic
of Korea at different levels and these have contributed to enhancing
closer understanding and friendship between us.

Your Excellency's visit, no doubt, will further enhance these friendly
ties and in so doing foster closer cooperation to our mutual benefit.

3. We in Malaysia are happy with the development of our relations. As Your
Excellency is aware, Malaysia has always followed a consistent policy of
establishing friendly relations and mutual cooperation with all countries,
irrespective of ideology or political systems, based on the principles of
respect for each other's sovereignty, territorial integrity and of
non-interference in one another's internal affairs. We believe that the
adherence to these principles as well as the principle of peaceful
co-existence is vital if we, particularly the smaller nations of the
world, are to enjoy peace, security and stability which are so essential
for the economic development, prosperity and well-being of our peoples.

4. In the development of our bilateral relations, I am mindful of the
potential that each of our two countries has to offer. I recall my visit
to your beautiful country in June 1979 when I was the then Deputy Prime
Minister of Malaysia, during which I had the opportunity to see some of
the achievements attained under the able and dedicated leadership of His
Excellency President Kim Il Sung and yourself. Your country, in your own
ways, has attained significant achievement in developing your agriculture,
energy resources and heavy industries. I was indeed impressed by your
efforts towards the development in these areas. In the agricultural field
you have come close to achieving self-sufficiency in food.

You have successfully harnessed your rivers for hydro-electric energy,
irrigation and flood control.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea possesses vast potential in this
field. I also noted your efforts in your four "Nature-Remaking" projects
which are the reclamation of tide-lands, the cultivation of new land, the
construction of the Nampo lock-gate and the Taechon Power Station. Your
country has also been successful in the industrial sector where industrial
activities represent as important a part as agricultural
development. Apart from these we had the opportunity to explore areas of
cooperation between our two countries, particularly in encouraging direct
trade and economic cooperation for the development of our two countries.

5. Malaysia, like the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is a
developing country whose economy is agriculture based but with a rapidly
increasing industrial and manufacturing sector. To sustain the momentum
and to further encourage the development of this sector the Malaysian
Government is committed towards establishing new markets for its
industrial and manufactured products while sustaining the growth of the
market for its primary produce like rubber, palm oil, tropical hardwoods
and tin. Our government is also committed to improve the livelihood of all
Malaysians and to increase their standard of living.

6. The prospects for cooperation between our two countries are therefore
bright and I am optimistic of the future. One area is certainly in the
promotion of our two way trade.

Malaysia has much to offer to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in
terms of our rubber, palm oil, tin and tropical timber products. On the
other hand, we require building and construction materials like cement and
steel, light industrial machinery, non-ferrous metals like zinc, lead and
aluminium, chemical fertilisers and even coal, which are important for our
industrial development and which the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
could make available. We could therefore cooperate in this area more
closely. It would be to our mutual benefit to work for an increase in the
volume of our trade.

Excellency, 

7. Your visit to our part of the world is taking place as important
political developments evolve around us.

Southeast Asia and the Korean Peninsular are strategically sensitive areas
which have been the theatres of two major wars in the second half of this
century. Although these wars are over, the geo-political factors that
contributed to them are ever present and are still causing instability in
the two regions. The exploitation of these geo-political factors can be
hastened if the states within these regions should become themselves
vulnerable through their lack of trust and cooperation and cohesion. We in
ASEAN have benefited from mutual cooperation and understanding and are
working to extend these benefits to the rest of our region through our
relentless pursuit of the concept of Southeast Asian Zone of Peace,
Freedom and Neutrality. What has occurred in Kampuchea is indeed
deplorable. The military intervention and occupation of Kampuchea by
foreign forces not only violates international law but constitutes a
setback to the principles of ZOPFAN.

Indeed, the continued occupation of Kampuchea would further invite major
power involvement and interference by outside forces in the region causing
further instability in the process. That is why we are actively involved
in seeking a political solution to the Kampuchean problem. Such a
political solution must be based on the Declaration and Resolution of the
International Conference on Kampuchea and consistent with that
Declaration, it is our desire to see the emergence of a coalition
government that is truly representative of the people of Kampuchea. It is
our hope that the parties concerned will work towards the early return of
peace and stability so that the countries in the region can embark on
national development and build a new era of friendly and cooperative
relations for our mutual benefit.

8. As non-aligned countries, both the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea and Malaysia can play a constructive role in bringing about the
peace that we so desire in our respective regions. In this regard it is
incumbent upon the non-aligned countries to continue to adhere steadfastly
to the goals and founding principles of the Movement so that its
credibility can be preserved and further enhanced. It is therefore the
duty of all Non-aligned members more particularly the members of the
Coordinating Bureau of which the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is
one to pursue this objective.

9. Before concluding, may I once again welcome Your Excellency's visit to
Malaysia. Your visit indeed is a testimony to the common wish of both our
governments to work together and cooperate wherever possible to develop
our respective economies and improve the standard of living of our
respective peoples. Malaysia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
share similar aspirations in this regard. It is our hope that the
individual endeavours undertaken by our respective countries will bring
about peace and economic development in our two regions for the general
well-being of our peoples.

10. On that note, may I now invite all of you to join me in a toast to His
Excellency the President of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, to
His Excellency the Premier of the Administrative Council of the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea, to the progress, prosperity and well-being of
the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and her people and to the
friendship between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Malaysia.