Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Seoul, Pyongyang clash over UN Command
South Korean soldier, right, and United Nations Command (UNC) soldiers stand guard near the military demarcation line separating North and South Korea, at the Joint Security Area of the Demilitarized Zone in the truce village of Panmunjeom, in this Oct. 4, 2022, file photo. North Korea berated the multinational military coalition as an “illegal organization for war” and called for its dissolution as South Korea moves to reinforce its ties to the UNC. AFP-Yonhap
By Jung Min-ho
S. Korea seeks to reinforce multinational ties as N. Korea calls for UNC dissolution
North Korea berated the United Nations Command (UNC) the day before South Korea’s inaugural defense ministerial meeting with 17 members of the multinational coalition in Seoul, Monday, calling it an “illegal organization for war” that should be dissolved.
Repeating its longheld stance that Seoul and Washington started the Korean War, Pyongyang claimed that the abolition of the UNC is essential for peace and security on the peninsula.
“The dissolution of the UNC is an essential demand for peace and safety,” Rodong Sinmun, the ruling Workers’ Party mouthpiece, said.
“The UNC should have been dissolved decades ago. But the U.S. and its followers have been revealing their characteristics as invaders through it, which helps cement a geopolitical structure for war.”
The newspaper also questioned the UNC’s legitimacy, claiming it is nothing but an American tool used to justify the “invasion” of North Korea and that the organization has nothing to do with the U.N.
The UNC was established on July 24, 1950, under a U.N. mandate to restore peace following North Korea’s invasion of the South. Since the war ended in an armistice, the UNC played a role as an armistice agreement enforcer and a facilitator for inter-Korean relations.
Speaking to reporters later that day, Koo Byung-sam, spokesman for the Ministry of Unification, dismissed North Korea’s claims as another repetition of its lies and defended the UNC’s role as a symbolic institution of international cooperation for peace.
“The UNC has played a crucial role in preserving freedom and peace in the Republic of Korea, and stands as an exemplar of international solidarity,” he said.
“North Korea’s false claim that the Korean War was the result of U.S. invasion should also be pointed out as it is based on lies and disinformation.”
South Korea’s view of the UNC is starkly different. In a speech on Liberation Day on Aug. 15, President Yoon Suk Yeol said the multinational military forces and their seven bases in Japan are the “biggest deterrent factor against North Korea’s invasion.”
A week before the speech, he said at a meeting with UNC officials that his administration would strengthen partnerships with each of its members in response to North Korea’s intensifying security threats.
The defense ministerial meeting was organized as part of that effort. Cohosted by Seoul and Washington, member states ― Britain, Australia, the Netherlands, Canada, France, New Zealand, the Philippines, Turkey, Thailand, South Africa, Greece, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Norway and Italy ― are expected to develop partnerships and discuss possible areas of collaboration against increasing nuclear threats from the regime. They are also expected to issue a joint statement.
North Korea’s aggressive reaction to the meeting shows its fear of and animosity toward the UNC, said Cho Han-bum, a researcher at the Korea Institute of National Unification, a state-funded think tank.
“As Seoul and Washington are working on the transfer of wartime operation control, though slowly, the UNC’s role is expected to grow as it is aligned with the interest of the current U.S. and South Korean governments,” he told The Korea Times. “But the biggest risk factor could shift the course if Americans elect a new president next year.”