1. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se delivered a keynote address at the 68th Session of the UN General Assembly on September 27.

2. In the first UN General Assembly speech by an official of the Republic of Korea since the launch of the Park Geun-hye government, Minister Yun spoke about the new ROK government’s foreign policy vision aimed at opening an “era of global happiness” and its “trustpolitik” strategy. He explained how the UN’s three key agenda – peace, human rights and development – harmonize with and are embodied in the aforementioned policy priorities of the Park Geun-hye government. He elaborated on the ROK government’s position on its key diplomatic issues in light of those policy priorities.

º Speaking about “peace,” Minister Yun condemned the use of chemical weapons in Syria, one of the biggest current issues facing the international community, and underscored the need for a united international response led by the UN Security Council.

º Minister Yun also welcomed the recent agreement between the US and Russia on the “Framework for Elimination of Syrian Chemical Weapons”; condemned in the strongest possible terms the use of chemical weapons in Syria as a crime against humanity that cannot be tolerated under any circumstances; and called upon non-signatory countries to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), including North Korea, to accede to the Convention as soon as possible.

º In terms of “human rights,” the Minister emphasized the need to uphold the principle of non-refoulement of refugees and urged North Korea to convene as soon as possible the reunion of families separated during the Korean War.

- Minister Yun brought attention to the grave issue of wartime sexual violence and emphasized that for the victims of sexual violence during conflicts of the last century, measures that are responsible and acceptable to the victims are called for to restore their honor and soothe their pain.

º With regard to “development,” the Minister explained the ROK’s recipient-oriented development cooperation policy, including sharing its development experiences such as Saemaul or New Community Movement, and highlighted the need for common response to climate change.

3. On North Korea, he drew attention to the seriousness of North Korea’s ongoing WMD programs that pose a threat to international peace and security and stressed the need for the international community to forge united efforts to roll back North Korean’s nuclear weapons programs.

º Minister Yun noted that North Korea should strictly implement its obligations under the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. He added that if the country decides to give up its parallel pursuit of economic development and nuclear armament and embarks on a path of genuine change, the ROK stands ready to help North Korea.

º The Minister voiced regret over North Korea’s unilateral cancellation of the plan for family reunion; reaffirmed the ROK government’s insulation of humanitarian issues from political considerations; and urged North Korea to convene the family reunion as soon as possible.

- Minister Yun also touched upon the Korean Peninsula trust-building process, the Northeast Asia peace and cooperation initiative and creation of a world peace park in the demilitarized zone (DMZ). 


                               Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

*unofficial translation