First of all, let me extend
my sincere congratulations to the President, Mr. Ali
Treki, on his assumption of the presidency of the
General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session. I am
confident that under his able leadership, meaningful
progress will be made during this session. I also wish
to express my appreciation and support to Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon for his tireless efforts in
reforming the United Nations.
I would first like to recall the special historic ties
between the Republic of Korea and the United Nations.
The contemporary history of the Republic of Korea
began with the United Nations. Under the auspices of
the United Nations, we held our first democratic
elections in 1948, and with the approval of the United
Nations we became the only legitimate Government on
the Korean Peninsula.
Indeed, the Republic of Korea is a country that
has been championed by the United Nations. Men from
16 United Nations Member States came to our support
when the Korean War broke out in 1950, only two
years after the founding of the Republic. Fallen heroes
of the Korean War from 11 countries are buried in the
only United Nations cemetery in the world, located in
Busan, the second largest city in Korea. To this day, the
cemetery serves as a place for the Korean people to
commemorate their noble sacrifices.
At the time of the Korean War, Korea was among
the least developed countries in the world, with a per
capita income of less than $50. But to everyone’s
surprise, Korea was able to achieve both
industrialization and democratization in a single
generation. Korea has transformed itself from an aid-
recipient country to a donor country.
While this achievement is the fruit of the Korean
people’s toils and tears, the invaluable support of the
United Nations has been a great source of strength. For
this reason, Korea observed United Nations Day even
before becoming a Member State in 1991. Building on
such achievements, Korea is now embarking on a path
of actively contributing to the international community.
That is the goal that a global Korea aims to achieve.
We wish to share our past development
experiences in order to help developing countries lift
themselves out of famine and poverty. While financial
support to developing countries is important, it is even
more important to find the right development model to
fit each country.
Today, the unprecedented financial crisis is
compounding the difficulties of developing countries.
As a member of the G-20 Troika , Korea is making the
utmost effort to strengthen the free trade system which
powers global economic growth, while also ensuring
that the voices of developing countries are heard.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set
forth by the United Nations must be realized.
Development cooperation and humanitarian assistance
need to increase, especially for the developing
countries most severely affected by the economic
crisis. Korea will fulfil its pledge to triple the volume
of its 2008 official development assistance (ODA) by
2015. And in 2011, we will be hosting the Fourth High-
level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Seoul. By
ensuring its success, we will enhance aid effectiveness
for the achievement of the MDGs by 2015 and
contribute to strengthening the global partnership for a
more comprehensive and effective development
cooperation.
Today, young Korean volunteers, under the name
of World Friends Korea, are doing volunteer work
throughout the world to put into practice the spirit of
love and giving. Currently, more than 3,000 volunteers
have been dispatched to some 40 countries, and we will
continue to send more volunteers, focusing on sharing
our areas of strength in information technology,
medicine and agricultural technologies as well as our
experience in governance development.
Among other efforts, Korea is also actively
engaging in promoting international peace and security
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and preventing terrorism through its participation in
peacekeeping operations. Currently, Koreans are
serving in 13 missions around the world. Since last
March, we have also been taking part in multinational
efforts to protect commercial vessels of all flags from
acts of piracy in the waters off the coast of Somalia.
Korea will faithfully fulfil its responsibilities as
expected by the international community, including in
the areas of preventing conflicts, countering terrorism
and responding to natural disasters.
Responding to climate change has become an
indispensable and urgent item on the agenda for all of
humanity. Climate change poses a common challenge
to all humankind and thus requires the concerted
efforts of developed and developing countries as well
as newly industrialized countries. For this reason, all
countries need to take part and be prepared in
addressing this challenge.
Korea greatly appreciates the role of the United
Nations in placing climate change high on the agenda
as an urgent priority and in galvanizing global efforts
to address this critical issue. At the Copenhagen
Conference, to be held in December 2009, the
international community is expected to deliver a very
important decision with great implications for the
future. At this very place yesterday, we reaffirmed our
commitment to making the Copenhagen Conference a
success.
Korea, while not included in annex I of the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC), plans to make a voluntary
announcement before the end of this year stating its
midterm emissions-reduction target for 2020. Korea
has proposed the establishment of a registry of
nationally appropriate mitigation actions at the
secretariat of the UNFCCC, with a view to inviting
developing countries to voluntarily participate in
mitigation actions and to providing the international
support that they need. We hope that our proposals and
efforts will contribute positively to the attainment of
successful outcomes at Copenhagen.
To respond proactively to climate change, Korea
has adopted low carbon green growth as a guiding
vision for our nation and a strategy for further
development. We are currently working to enact a
framework law on green growth and establish a five-
year plan for green growth. Thereby, we will not only
transform our economic and industrial structures, but
also change our very lifestyles to become more future-
oriented. Under this plan, Korea will invest about 2 per
cent of its gross domestic product in the field of green
growth every year over the next five years. This is
twice the level recommended by the United Nations.
The underlying objective of the low carbon green
growth strategy is to promote sustainable development
by putting in place a positive cycle in which the
environment revives the economy and the economy
preserves the environment. This strategy is the most
effective way to address global climate change and to
overcome the economic crisis at the same time. By
pursuing a green growth policy that makes assertive
fiscal investments in areas of green growth, Korea is
preparing for the future, while also responding to the
immediate economic crisis.
The development of green technologies and
international cooperation are key factors in ensuring
success in responding to climate change. At the
expanded Group of Eight Summit last August, Korea
was designated as a leader in transformational
technology, including the area of smart grid
technology. Korea will strengthen global partnership
for cooperation on green technology and share the
ensuing benefits of this partnership with the rest of the
world.
While fossil energy is replaceable, water is not.
Water is the most important resource in our lives.
Accordingly, I wish to urge the President of the
General Assembly, world leaders and the Secretary-
General to take a special interest in the issues
concerning water, since it is also a crucial factor in
achieving the MDGs.
Today, close to half of the world’s population
face water-related problems, and most of the climate
change-related natural disasters, including floods,
drought and rising sea levels, are water-related
disasters. In the course of launching the East Asia
Climate Partnership, the Korean Government reviewed
water-related issues in Asia. We have come to the
conclusion that the provision of clean water and the
development of policies and infrastructure for
inundation and disaster prevention are the most
pressing issues at hand.
Korea possesses cutting-edge desalination
technology and has been improving its integrated water
resource management system. The restoration of
Cheong Gae Cheon in Seoul, which had been a
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concrete-covered dry stream for several decades, has
provided more than 10 million residents with a
pleasant recreation site and a clean stream. This was an
environmentally friendly greening project that helped
the city to overcome the heat island phenomenon, not
to mention rendering it more attractive at the same
time.
Such experiences and achievements have led us
to launch a four major rivers restoration project,
involving the four rivers that traverse our country from
north to south and from east to west. This project not
only provides a fundamental solution for securing
water and controlling flooding, but also enables us to
revive the ecosystem of these rivers.
The time has come for the international
community to establish a system of governance that
addresses water-related issues effectively. I am aware
that some 20 United Nations agencies have been
working in earnest on water issues. Issues concerning
water are complex, as they have a bearing on a wide
range of areas. To establish a more effective system of
international cooperation on water, I would like to
propose a specialized integrated water management
cooperation initiative.
Global peace and security form the cornerstone
for maintaining the stability and prosperity of all
mankind. Today, global peace is threatened by the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their
means of delivery. To respond to these challenges,
strong determination and cooperation among all
countries are essential in strengthening the
international non-proliferation regime, including the
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
Last October, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon put
forward a five-point proposal for nuclear disarmament.
And, in his speech in Prague in April, United States
President Barack Obama set out his vision for a world
free of nuclear weapons. Through sufficient
discussions, we anticipate that these initiatives, which
embody the hopes and desires of humanity, will
enhance a common understanding on nuclear
disarmament and non-proliferation.
In particular, a nuclear weapons-free Korean
Peninsula must be realized in order to attain peace in
North-East Asia and beyond. Denuclearization is a
prerequisite to laying a path towards genuine
reconciliation and unification in the Korean peninsula,
which is the only remaining divided region in the
world.
The Republic of Korea will play an active part in
the concerted international efforts to dismantle the
nuclear programmes of the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea. We urge the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea to join in these efforts and to return
to the Six-Party Talks forthwith and without
precondition.
The 1992 Joint Declaration on the
Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, to which
both Koreas committed themselves, must be observed.
On that basis, the Republic of Korea will increase
dialogue and exchanges with the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea, and strengthen cooperation with the
international community towards that country’s
development. I have proposed a grand bargain that
would involve dismantling the core components of the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s nuclear
programme and the concomitant provision of security
assurances and intensified economic support within the
framework of the Six-Party Talks. We are currently
engaged in consultations with the concerned parties. I
want to make it clear that now is the time for the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to make the
decision to achieve genuine peace on the Korean
peninsula, and for its own sake as well.
We are confronted with diverse and complex
challenges that can be met only through international
cooperation. In meeting the expectations of the
international community, we hope that a renewed and
strengthened United Nations will assume a greater role.
To that end, it is important now more than ever for the
United Nations to demonstrate efficient and effective
management. We hope that the United Nations reform
initiatives in the various areas will yield concrete
results.
As a responsible State Member of the United
Nations, Korea will continue to render its close
cooperation so that the Organization can play a lead
role in bringing progress to all humankind and the
international community at large. Korea seeks to be a
friend to the world that is considerate of others and
contributes to global society.