1. The Government of the Republic of Korea (ROK) welcomes and strongly supports UN Security Council resolution 2118 (2013), a binding resolution for the implementation of the elimination of chemical weapons in Syria, which was adopted unanimously at the emergency ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council held in New York on 27 September 20:00 (local time). The Government of the ROK further commends the decision adopted on 28 September 00:30 (local time) by the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), setting out technical details for the destruction of Syrian chemical weapons.

2. With regard to the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 2118, the Government of the ROK commends the negotiation efforts by the U.S. and the Russian governments, and appreciates the role conducted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the UN chemical weapons investigation mission.

3. The Government of the ROK urges the Syrian government to immediately and fully comply with UN Security Council resolution 2118 and the OPCW Executive Council decision, and to fully cooperate with the UN and the OPCW in the process. Furthermore, the ROK Government expects the destruction of all chemical weapons in Syria, and the verification thereof, to be implemented in a complete and expeditious manner, in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 2118 and the OPCW decision.

4. The Government of the ROK will actively engage in international efforts to eliminate chemical weapons from not only Syria but the entire world. The ROK Government calls upon States that have not yet acceded to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), including North Korea, to do so without delay.

5. The Republic of Korea sincerely hopes that a political solution will be reached for the Syrian situation through an early convening of an international conference on Syria to implement the Geneva Communiqué, as called for by UN Security Council resolution 2118. 


                           Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

*unofficial translation