Let me start
by congratulating you, Mr. Kutesa, on your election
as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-
ninth session. I am confident that the Assembly will
make meaningful progress during this session under
your able leadership. I would also like to express my
appreciation to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his
tireless efforts to tackle the numerous crises breaking
out around the globe.
Next year marks the seventieth anniversary of the
founding of the United Nations. I am prompted by the
state of our world today to reflect once again upon the
noble dreams and ideals that inspired the founders of
the United Nations 70 years ago. The founders aspired
to build a new world that places people at the centre, as
the opening words of the Charter of the United Nations,
“We the peoples”, remind us. Throughout the ensuing
decades of the Cold War and the post-Cold-War era, the
United Nations tackled countless crises, striving, as it
did so, to fulfil its purpose of maintaining international
peace, promoting development and upholding human
rights.
Yet our world continues to be beset by widespread
disputes and conflicts, both large and small, despite
the efforts of the United Nations. The civil conflicts
raging on in Syria, Libya and South Sudan are causing
the deaths of untold numbers of innocent women and
children. In Iraq and surrounding areas, the activities
of foreign terrorist fighters are posing new threats to
peace internationally, not to mention in the Middle
East. The fragile ceasefires in Gaza and Ukraine call
for more fundamental and lasting solutions. The recent
Ebola outbreak in Africa, widespread poverty and
natural disasters underscore the scope of the threat
from multiple challenges.
In order to push back against those challenges
to peace and development, we need to return to the
founding spirit of the United Nations by putting people
first and promotinge cooperation among the Members
of the family of nations. To meet the aspirations of
the international community for justice and common
prosperity, the United Nations needs to continue to
play a central role in arranging more rapid and efficient
responses.
The Republic of Korea was founded in 1948 with the
blessing of the United Nations. It was able to safeguard
freedom and democracy during the Korean war that
broke out two years later, again with the help of the
United Nations. Once a country that barely managed to
survive with United Nations assistance, the Republic
of Korea is today a nation that has achieved both an
advanced market economy and democracy. In the course
of that journey, the Republic of Korea came to espouse
the values upheld by the United Nations — peace,
development and human rights — as its own vision.
Given its history, the Republic of Korea is no
stranger to the agonies of the civil wars, aggression,
poverty and humanitarian disasters that are unfolding
around the world. That is why the Republic of Korea
is actively working to serve international peace and
promote human rights and sustainable development
as a member of the three major Councils of the United
Nations: the Security Council, the Human Rights
Council and the Economic and Social Council.
The developments unfolding in the Middle East,
Eurasia, and North-East Asia are a far cry from the
peaceful and just world that was envisioned by the
United Nations founders. Overcoming the instability
and chaos we see today must start with our adherence
to the fundamental order and norms of the international
community, namely, respect for sovereignty and
territorial integrity; refraining from the threat or use of
force in violation of the Charter; and respect for human
rights and humanitarian values.
We need to prevent the development and
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction such as
nuclear weapons, which pose a fundamental threat to
international peace and security. In that regard, we
welcome the elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons
through the joint efforts of the United Nations and the
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
and the progress being made in addressing the Iranian
nuclear issue.
By the same token, I would underline the urgency
of resolving the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
nuclear issue, which presents the single greatest threat
to peace on the Korean peninsula and in North-East
Asia. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is
the only country to have conducted a nuclear test in
the twenty-first century. Its nuclear programme not
only is a serious threat to international peace, but
also amounts to a total rejection of the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which is the
backbone of the global nuclear non-proliferation
regime. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
must make the decision to give up its nuclear weapons.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea should
follow in the footsteps of other countries that have
abandoned their nuclear weapons in favour of reform
and opening-up, and it must choose a different path that
supports its economic development and improves the
lives of its people. Should it do this, the Republic of
Korea, together with the international community, will
provide our strong support for developing the economy
of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
In addition to that serious challenge on the Korean
Peninsula, North-East Asia is undergoing a difficult
transition. There are growing tensions in the region
surrounding issues of history, territory and maritime
security. Yet, unlike other regions, North-East Asia
lacks a mechanism for dealing with those problems
through multilateral consultations. It is against that
backdrop that I am seeking to advance a North-East
Asia peace and cooperation initiative that is aimed
at building an order of trust and cooperation in the
region. In my view, building up habits of cooperation in
practical areas, such as climate action, disaster relief,
nuclear safety and tackling transnational crime, can
materialize into a multilateral process of cooperation
along the lines of what we see in Europe.
In that context, I have also proposed creating a
North-East Asia nuclear safety consultative body to
discuss nuclear safety issues, a topic of shared interest
for the countries in the region. At the same time, we
are reaching beyond North-East Asia and seeking to
build transportation and energy networks across an
economically interdependent Eurasia, which would
help strengthen political trust and security across the
continent.
This year marks 20 years since the Rwandan
genocide, the world’s greatest humanitarian tragedy of
the late twentieth century. The international community
had pledged “never again” in the aftermath of the
genocides in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda in the
1990s. Yet, we are witnessing today a different type of
humanitarian disaster unfolding in Syria and Iraq. The
Republic of Korea is actively participating in the efforts
of the United Nations to prevent such humanitarian
tragedies. The Republic of Korea strongly supports
United Nations policies to protect human rights, such
as the Rights Up Front initiative and the Secretary-
General’s “open gate” policy. Even as we speak, Korean
troops are taking part in United Nations peacekeeping
missions in South Sudan and Lebanon, helping with
peacebuilding, reconstruction and the protection of
civilians and human rights.
The Republic of Korea also attaches great
importance to preventing human suffering, particularly
of women and children, who are most vulnerable,
in conflict situations. In that context, during its
presidency of the Security Council in February 2013,
Korea presided over an open debate (see S/PV.6917) on
the protection of civilians in armed conflict and helped
raise global awareness. Korea is also participating in and
championing the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative.
Sexual violence against women during armed conflicts
is a clear violation of human rights and humanitarian
norms, regardless of how long ago or where it occurred.
The human rights situation in the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea is also the subject of
profound interest and concern for the international
community. In March, the Human Rights Council
adopted recommendations proposed by the Commission
of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea. The Democratic People’s Republic
of Korea and the international community should
take the necessary measures to implement those
recommendations. In that regard, the United Nations
office that will soon be set up in the Republic of Korea
to investigate human rights abuses in the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea is expected to reinforce such
efforts. The international community should also pay
greater attention to the human rights situation of North
Korean defectors. The relevant United Nations agencies
and countries should provide the necessary support
so that defectors can freely choose their resettlement
destination.
The challenges facing humankind today, such as
absolute poverty and climate change, can be addressed
only through a concerted international response, given
their complexity and intertwined character. Less than
500 days remain until the target date of the Millennium
Development Goals, which was launched with the
aim of eradicating absolute poverty and increasing
social and economic opportunities. The Republic of
Korea is ready, by harnessing our unique historical
experience, to play a bridging role between developed
and developing countries as the post-2015 development
goals are set. In that regard, the decision was made as
a result of the Busan Partnership agreement, adopted
at the Ministerial Meeting in April in Mexico, to turn
the Global Partnership for Effective Development
Cooperation into an international development
cooperative mechanism.
The Republic of Korea will seek to enhance the
quality of its overseas assistance. We will continue
to share our development experience, by globally
promoting the Saemaul movement model, which was
conducive to eradicating rural poverty in Korea through
the spirit of diligence, self-reliance and cooperation.
Having seen the power of education in propelling its
own development, the Republic of Korea strongly
supports and is championing the Secretary-General’s
Global Education First Initiative. Korea will share its
lessons learned and provide substantive support to the
United Nations initiatives on education, which is one of
the main themes of the post-2015 development goals. To
that end, Korea will host the World Education Forum
in 2015 and make efforts to reach an agreement on the
new education objectives for the next 15 years.
Climate change is no less an existential threat
to humanity than the question of war and peace. At
the Climate Summit 2014 held at United Nations
Headquarters yesterday, 23 September, leaders
proclaimed their collective resolve to reach a consensus
on the post-2020 new climate regime. Going forward,
an agreement must be reached on a new climate regime
by the 2015 Conference of the Parties to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in
Paris. As the host country of the Green Climate Fund
(GCF) and the Green Growth Global Institute (GGGI),
Korea is committed to supporting international efforts
to strengthen developing countries’ mitigation and
adaptation capacities. Above all, we will continue to
work for the full and early operationalization of the GCF
and for the expansion of GGGI assistance to developing
countries. Korea views the climate challenge not as a
burden but as an opportunity to unleash new value,
markets and jobs through technological innovation.
We are nurturing new energy industries. And we hope
to share the fruits of our efforts with other developing
countries.
The Korean people gained independence 69 years
ago, but the subsequent division of the Korean peninsula
precluded its membership in the United Nations as a
single sovereign State. The two Koreas were admitted
separately as Member States to the United Nations
in 1991. Having two separate seats despite a single
language, culture and history is clearly not normal.
This year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the fall
of the Berlin Wall, but the Korean peninsula remains
stifled by a wall of division. Countless separated
families have been spending decades in agony, longing
to see their loved ones. Every year, many leave for a
place where they will never be able to meet their loved
ones in person. I call on the international community to
stand with us in tearing down the world’s last remaining
wall of division.
Not long ago, I proposed to the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea that we build corridors that
can connect our environment, our livelihoods and our
culture. In my view, a genuine community that can heal
the wounds of division and move both sides forward
together will come about only when people from the
South and the North are able to live in natural harmony
within a single ecosystem, when separated families are
able to come together and ease their agony, and when
culture is shared.
Today, the Korean peninsula is divided by a
4-kilometre wide, 250-kilometre long demilitarized
zone (DMZ). The DMZ, built around the military
demarcation line to prevent renewed conflict, has
in reality ended up preventing the back-and-forth
movement of people for some 60 years. But from the
stretches of the DMZ would emerge, in those decades, a
treasure trove of nature’s wildlife. The DMZ ecosystem
is a testament to the fact that the South and North are
part of a single whole, one which both sides should
work together to restore. And so I hope to build inside
the very symbol of our division a world ecopeace park
that would begin to reconnect the Peninsula’s divided
nature and divided people. If we can sweep away the
barbed-wire fences from small areas inside the DMZ
and thereby allow people from both sides to live in
natural harmony, such a park could emerge as a corridor
of life and peace.
I call on the United Nations to spearhead these
efforts. Building a park that embodies respect for
international standards and values, and doing so under
United Nations auspices, with all the parties to the
war on board — the two Koreas, the United States and
China — would serve to ease tensions and promote the
peaceful reunification of the two Koreas. A unified
Korea would be a starting point for a world without
nuclear weapons, offer a fundamental solution to the
North Korean human rights issue and help unlock a
stable and cooperative North-East Asia. Just as the
unification of Germany laid the ground for a new Europe
by integrating that continent, a unified Korea could set
in motion a new North-East Asia. I am confident that a
peacefully reunified Korean peninsula will contribute
to realizing the founding purposes and values espoused
by the United Nations.
The founders of the United Nations were not
deterred by the heat of war from looking to the future and
planning for a peaceful post-war world. The Republic
of Korea is committed to a vision of diplomacy that
seeks lasting peace and unification on the peninsula
and peace and development in North-East Asia and
contributes to building a happier world. The Republic
of Korea will do its part in that noble undertaking to
ensure that the United Nations continues to safeguard
our common values and cements its place at the centre
of global governance.