열린장관실

(check against delivery)
                           

Speech at Luncheon
hosted by the UN Association of ROK
on the 62nd anniversary of UN Day
24 October 2007, Seoul

H.E. Song Min-soon

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Republic of Korea

Ambassador Sun Joun-young,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Members of the UN Association of Korea,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today, it is a great pleasure to commemorate together with you the 62nd birthday of the United Nations. I would first like to extend my thanks to the UN Association of Korea for its important role in promoting Korea's engagement in UN activities as well as enhancing public awareness of the UN in this country.

Today's global challenges require a global response. Ever-widening globalization demands a significant increase in the role of the United Nations. While there seems to be consensus on the need to strengthen the UN's capacity to meet these challenges, opinion is divided as to how the world body is doing in this regard. Some even put in question the relevance of the United Nations in dealing with the new challenges. As much as people have held expectations for the world body, they have often been frustrated over the limitations of the UN's effectiveness in the real world.   

Yet, let us not forget the record of success of the UN. The UN has spearheaded the efforts to establish international norms and principles. By virtue of its universality, moral authority and legitimacy, the UN has played a key role in resolving international disputes and dealing with global issues. In such ways, the Organization has contributed to the maintenance of stable and predictable relations between and among nations.  Other more practical achievements should not be underestimated either, in such areas as development, decolonization and the promotion of human rights.

Since joining the UN in 1991, the Republic of Korea has participated in key decision-making mechanisms of the United Nations. Even before putting up a Korean national as UN Secretary-General, Korea had served as a member of the Security Council and assumed the Presidency of the 56th session of the General Assembly.  Moreover, we have played active roles in the Economic and Social Council, Human Rights Council and other bodies.  

Against such a backdrop, this year's UN Day holds particular meaning for Korea.  I am therefore glad to share my views today on the UN issues on which the Republic of Korea has placed its primary focus, as well as our efforts to consolidate peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula.

Let me start with peace-keeping. UN peace-keeping operations play a crucial role in the maintenance of international peace and security.  The UN has developed  peace-keeping operations in a creative way. The growing  support from the international community for UN PKOs is a testimony to the relevance of such activities. Of course, it would be desirable if one day we could live in a world with fewer peace-keeping operations. But until then, we should be prepared for continuing or increasing the need of peace operations.   

The Republic of Korea has made it a policy priority to strengthen its participation in UN peace-keeping activities by providing its well-trained and disciplined troops, among other things.  We have participated in 14 peace-keeping operations so far, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) being the latest.

Emerging from the devastation of war and the following painful reconstruction process, the Republic of Korea has benefitted from the efforts of the UN to build and maintain peace and sustainable economic growth.  We are now endeavoring to requite others for the assistance and support that we received.  We believe that participating in UN peace-keeping operations is one good way of doing that.

The success of each PKO mission depends to some degree on the rapid deployment of peace keeping forces. In response to such a call by the international community, earlier this month forty-three Korean lawmakers submitted a draft「PKO Act」 to the National Assembly to expedite the process of sending  PKO troops.  We are putting in our best efforts to produce concrete result in the near future and ask for your full support for this legislation. 

When I think of Korea's potential for contribution to UN PKO, I believe that it should be something like our contribution to the world economy through our strength in the IT industry. In other words, we can make useful contribution by doing what we are good at. The same rationale can be applied to our role in development cooperation, which is based on our own experience of national development.
In the area of development, this year marks the halfway point towards the target date for the UN Millennium Development Goals. The Korean Government has been redoubling efforts for the successful implementation of the goals.  We are in the process of increasing our ODA to 1 billion USD by 2009.  Further efforts are being made to reach a scale of 0.25 percent of gross national income by 2015.  Now, we also have a new road map to join the donors’ group of the OECD DAC by 2010.  At the same time, drawing lessons from the past history of national development, we are enhancing the effectiveness of our ODA program by actively sharing our experience with developing countries.

An issue closely related to development is climate change. Since the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report early this year, the seriousness of climate change and the urgency of a response have been highlighted.  The upcoming UN Climate Change Conference in Bali this December is expected to serve as a turning point for the negotiations on the future framework.

I believe that the future framework should be comprehensive and flexible enough to encourage as many countries as possible to take part in the global emission reduction efforts.  It should also be based on the principles of "common but differentiated responsibilities" and "respective capabilities", properly reflecting the social and economic differences between individual countries to ensure their sustainable development.  

As an inaugural member of the Human Rights Council, the Republic of Korea has been striving for the protection and promotion of the human rights of all. We have placed a special focus on vulnerable groups in society such as women, children and those with disabilities. We have also kept voicing the need to improve the human rights situation in countries of concern.

Korea is keenly aware of the value of democracy and its advance around the world. We are a dedicated member of the Community of Democracies, playing our full part in efforts to spread and strengthen democracy. We will also do our part as a founding member of the new multilateral initiative, the "Partnership for Democratic Governance. (PDG)"  I hope that the PDG, with its creative approaches, will be a useful facilitator toward the goal of achieving a democratic world.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The United Nations can and must do better. We should persist in our efforts to strengthen the world body through reform. Under the leadership of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, initiatives have been taken to improve the effectiveness, efficiency and accountability of the Organization. My government will continue to support the efforts of the Secretary-General to this end. 

In this regard, Korea continues in its efforts to ensure that many well-qualified Koreans are given the opportunity to serve in this great Organization through a fair and competitive process. As we are willing to fulfill our responsibilities in terms of contributions to the UN, we believe that Korea's status of under-representation in the UN human resources should be resolved as soon as possible. 

Distinguished Guests,

The North Korean nuclear issue has significant implications for peace and security in Northeast Asia and would pose a serious threat to the global nuclear non-proliferation regime based on the NPT, if not properly addressed.

The Six-Party Talks have made noticeable progress lately. In February 2007, the Six Parties adopted a plan to implement the Joint Statement of September 2005 that set out principles for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.  As a result, nuclear facilities in Yongbyon were shut down and IAEA inspectors returned to North Korea. On October 3, the Parties reached yet another important milestone by adopting an agreement to disable these facilities.

Pursuant to the agreement, North Korea will disable three key nuclear facilities in Yongbyon by the end of this year. An expert group visited Yongbyon last week to prepare for the disablement. We expect the actual disablement process to start in early November. The North has also committed itself to providing a complete and correct declaration of all its nuclear programs within the year. This declaration will give us the whole picture of all nuclear-related activities and programs in North Korea, which will be the basis for their dismantlement. In addition, North Korea pledged not to transfer nuclear material, technologies, or know-how.
In return, corresponding measures, including economic and energy assistance provided by the five parties, will facilitate the denuclearization process. The United States, in parallel with Pyongyang’s actions, will fulfill its commitment to North Korea on bilateral issues of concern, such as removing the designation of North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism and terminating the application of the Trading with the Enemy Act with respect to Pyongyang.

Now turning to the inter-Korean relations, we believe that the 2007 inter-Korean Summit Meeting, the first in seven years, provided new momentum for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and beyond. At the Summit, the commitment was confirmed to fully implement the September 2005 Joint Statement and February 2007 Agreement of the Six-Party Talks. As such, the Six-Party Talks process and North-South relations are developing in a mutually reinforcing manner.  The Summit has also laid a solid foundation for a future-oriented inter-Korean economic community with the agreement on expanding inter-Korean economic cooperation.  We will faithfully implement all these agreements through follow-up measures such as the upcoming Prime Ministerial Talks.

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

As Korea's presence in world affairs grows, I believe what is important for our people is to see and understand international issues not only from a Korean perspective but also from a global perspective.  This is particularly imperative in today's world where civil society plays an increasing role in dealing with global challenges.

In order to achieve the ideals of the UN, the participation of not only member states but also the non-governmental sector is increasingly crucial.  The UN Global Compact, designed to advance the UN goals in human rights, environment and anti-corruption through the involvement of corporate sector, has now expanded to encompass the Republic of Korea. The inauguration ceremony  of the Korean network of the Global Compact was held last month. 

The UN Association of Korea is playing a central role in the efforts by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to support the work of the UN in Korea.  We wish it every success in its noble endeavors to forge stronger bonds of cooperation between the Republic of Korea and the United Nations.

Thank you.    /The End/