Revitalization of the UN Command has begun

The Ministry of National Defense hosted the first-ever meeting of our defense minister and the defense ministers of the United Nations Command on Tuesday. During the 1950-53 Korean War, 14 countries sent combat troops and three other countries sent medical units. The first international gathering of the defense ministers carries great significance, as it signifies their strong determination to defend South Korea from North Korea’s mounting nuclear and missile threats.

The UN Command — established shortly after the North’s invasion on June 25, 1950, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 84 — successfully fought back against the aggression. The command faithfully carried out its primary mission of managing the truce and sending military personnel to the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command to brace for a contingency even after the Armistice struck on July 27, 1953. The UN Command has served as another security pillar together with the Korea-U.S. alliance. Undeniably, however, the role of the UN Command has been underappreciated.

In Tuesday’s meeting, the 17 members of the command issued a joint statement pledging to take action if the North threatens the South’s security or relaunches an armed attack in violation of the UN Charter. The meeting offered the 17 countries a chance to reaffirm their commitment to support South Korea in times of war, as agreed to in the Washington Declaration in 1953. Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said the meeting translates into a “strong resolution by the international community to maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula.”

In a bilateral meeting on Monday, Shin and his U.S. counterpart revised the Tailored Deterrence Strategy (TDS) after 10 years to effectively cope with Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile provocations. The collective manifestation Tuesday of a joint response to North Korean attacks by the 17 members of the UN Command testifies to the consolidation of the two defense axes even further.

The Moon Jae-in administration also attempted to revitalize the UN Command, but the dovish government couldn’t due to its preoccupation with an end-of-war declaration. At that time, the government’s refusal to accept the participation of Germany and Denmark in an expanded UN Command triggered a conflict with the command. President Yoon Suk Yeol underscored the role of the command in defending against the North’s aggression.

South Korea and the UN Command are planing to expand the command’s size. The remaining task is to augment security cooperation with Japan to ensure Tokyo’s uninterrupted supply of military logistics in times of crisis.