UN Command Member States Gathered After 70 Years: "Joint Response to South Korea Military Attacks"

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Shin Won-sik, Minister of National Defense, and Lloyd Austin, U.S. Secretary of Defense, are taking a commemorative photo with participants from various countries at the Korea-UN Member States Defense Ministers' Meeting held on the morning of the 14th in the Ministry of National Defense's main conference room in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Joint Press Corps

Seventeen United Nations Command member countries, including the United States, issued a joint statement declaring that they will respond collectively if hostile acts or armed attacks threatening the security of the Republic of Korea recur.

On the 14th, Shin Won-sik, Minister of National Defense, and Lloyd Austin, U.S. Secretary of Defense, along with representatives from UN Command member countries, held the 1st Korea-UN Command Defense Ministers' Meeting at the Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan and made this announcement.

The defense ministers of Korea and UN Command member countries stated in the declaration, “If hostile acts or armed attacks threatening the security of the Republic of Korea on the Korean Peninsula resume in violation of UN principles, we will respond jointly.” They also added, “During the Korean War, the UN Command successfully integrated and commanded combat and support forces voluntarily provided by UN member countries, repelling North Korea’s armed attacks and protecting peace in the Republic of Korea.”

In particular, the attendees strongly condemned North Korea’s illegal nuclear and missile programs, which violate multiple UN Security Council resolutions, and called for the cessation of North Korea’s illegal activities and for the international community to play a role in this effort.

Shin Won-sik, Minister of National Defense, is delivering a welcome speech at the Korea-UN Member States Defense Ministers' Meeting held at the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 14th. Photo by Joint Press Corps

The UN Command member countries include 14 nations that dispatched combat troops during the Korean War: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, T?rkiye, Australia, the Philippines, Thailand, the Netherlands, Colombia, Greece, New Zealand, Belgium, France, and South Africa, as well as three countries that sent medical support units: Norway, Denmark, and Italy.

Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik, who presided over the meeting, said in his welcoming remarks, “Unlike during the Korean War, North Korea is now a UN member state,” and pointed out, “If North Korea again commits an illegal invasion, it would be a self-contradiction for a UN member state to attack the UN Command, and furthermore, a serious betrayal of the UN and the international community.”

During the meeting, the Ministry of National Defense and the UN Command each presented on the role of the UN Command in deterring war and maintaining peace on the Korean Peninsula, as well as ways to strengthen cooperation and solidarity among Korea and UN Command member countries, exchanging opinions among the member states. President Yoon Suk-yeol, in a written congratulatory message, stated, “The UN Command is a powerful source of strength defending the Republic of Korea.” Minister Shin also warned that in the event of North Korean provocations, “strong reprisals by the international community centered on the UN Command will inevitably follow.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.