South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook has warned that if United Nations member countries were to aid North Korea illegally, as they did during the Korean War, it would be a “serious act of betrayal” against the UN and the international community.
During his welcome speech at the Korea-UN Forces Defense Ministers’ Meeting held at the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan, Seoul, on the 14th, Minister Suh said, “The gathering of UN Forces member countries after 70 years is an opportunity to reaffirm the international community’s strong will to protect peace on the Korean Peninsula.”
Minister Suh emphasized, “The UN Forces have served as the core axis of South Korea’s security for 70 years after the war,” and “The UN Forces are a potent deterrent against North Korea’s military provocations.” He added, “The fact that the UN Forces are gathered in one place is significant in the face of North Korea’s advancing nuclear missile capabilities. If a country that aided North Korea during the Korean War helps them again, they will face severe punishment just like North Korea.”
The meeting was attended by representatives from 17 UN Forces member countries, including Minister Suh and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. The UN Forces were established following North Korea’s invasion on June 25, 1950, and have been responsible for managing the armistice agreement and providing combat power support to the ROK-US Combined Forces Command in emergencies, even after the armistice agreement was signed on July 27, 1953. The commander of the U.S. Forces Korea, a four-star general, also serves as the commander of the UN Forces. This meeting, where the defense ministers and representatives of Korea and UN Forces member countries gathered to discuss ways to deter war on the Korean Peninsula, is significant as the first of its kind.
The members of the UN Forces in Korea are expected to make a joint declaration after the meeting that they will respond through re-engagement if hostile actions or military attacks threatening South Korea’s security are repeated on the Korean Peninsula. Also, the representatives of each country are likely to urge North Korea to halt illegal activities such as nuclear missile development and comply with UN Security Council resolutions in a joint statement.
The UN Forces member countries include 14 countries that dispatched combat troops during the Korean War, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Turkey, Australia, the Philippines, Thailand, the Netherlands, Colombia, Greece, New Zealand, Belgium, France, and South Africa, as well as three countries, Norway, Denmark, and Italy, that sent medical support teams. The Ministry of National Defense evaluated, “This is the first meeting where the defense ministers and representatives of Korea and UN Forces member countries gather together to explore ways to cooperate for the deterrence of war and maintenance of peace on the Korean Peninsula through the role of the UN Forces.”
Meanwhile, the North Korean Foreign Ministry’s Institute for Disarmament and Peace issued a public statement the day before, arguing for the dissolution of the UN Forces, stating that the meeting “demonstrates that the security landscape of the Korean Peninsula is becoming more firmly entrenched in a war-oriented structure.”
By. Goo Chae Eun
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