Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Dismantlement of "UN Forces Command" Demanded

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK via Korea News Service (KNS)

    Pyongyang, March 9 (KCNA) -- A DPRK delegate, addressing the meeting of the Special Committee on UN Peace-keeping Operations on February 28, said that if the UN peace-keeping operations are to contribute to ensuring world peace and security in conformity with its mission and purpose it is necessary to strictly observe the principle of respecting sovereignty in all activities. He referred to the human rights abuses including sexual abuses of civilians by members of the peace-keeping forces.
    He attributed the continuation of such human rights abuses in the new century to Japan's refusal to eradicate the consequences of the crimes related to the sexual slavery committed by the Japanese army in the last century. He underscored the need to take strong measures to punish those members of the peace-keeping forces who perpetrated crimes recently and call into question the crimes committed by Japan in the past and their consequences and force it to fully settle them.
    He noted that it is another pressing task to put an end to the acts of individual countries to misuse the UN military operations and activities for achieving their sinister political and military purposes with the UN reform as a momentum. The dismantlement of the "UN Forces Command" which has illegally existed in south Korea for scores of years should be the primary target of the UN reform, he noted, and continued:
    The "UN Forces Command" in south Korea is a typical example of the abuse of the name of the UN as it not only threw an obstacle to the settlement of the Korean issue but damaged the trust in the UN.
    The 30th UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for the dismantlement of the "UN Forces Command," recognizing that it is unnecessary for it to exist in south Korea any longer.
    Nevertheless, the U.S. has insisted on its continued existence. This is aimed to continue abusing the name of the UN for maintaining its military initiative in the Korean Peninsula and other parts of Northeast Asia.
    We hold that the UN take the UN reform as an occasion of totally eradicating the aftermath of the abuse of its name for sinister political and military purposes in the last century.
    The DPRK delegation re-clarifies its stance that the UN should observe the principle of respecting sovereignty for the successful UN peace-keeping operations and disallow individual countries to abuse the name of the UN for their ulterior purposes.