UNC members renew commitment against any NK armed attack

The 17 member states of the United Nations Command on Tuesday reaffirmed their commitment to collective action in the event of any hostile actions or armed attacks by North Korea on the Korean Peninsula.

The UNC member states, who once united under the one UN flag to furnish forces and assistance for South Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War, gathered again in Seoul for the recommitment.

The assembly on Tuesday marked the first-ever defense ministerial meeting between South Korea and the UNC member states, hosted by South Korea's Defense Ministry, coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the signing of the armistice agreement.

"The UNC Member States declared that they will be united upon any renewal of hostilities or armed attack on the Korean Peninsula challenging the principles of the United Nations and the security of the Republic of Korea," read a joint statement adopted at the meeting. Republic of Korea is the official name of South Korea.

The UNC member states' reaffirmation was the first since the original commitment on July 27, 1953, when Korean War hostilities ended with a cease-fire.

Seven decades ago, the 16 countries that fought alongside South Korea signed a separate Joint Policy Declaration in Washington. The Declaration says, "If there is a renewal of the armed attack, we should again be united and prompted to resist."

Of the 16 countries that sent troops and six others that provided vital medical assistance, 17 have remained as UN Command member states.

During this meeting, the UN Command and South Korea's Defense Ministry also respectively outlined the UNC's role in deterring war and preserving peace on the Korean Peninsula as well as strategies to enhance cooperation and solidarity between South Korea and UNC member countries.

As the outcome, the UNC member states alongside South Korea, pledged to strengthen cooperation to support the UNC's vital functions.

The UNC was established in July 1950, just one month after North Korea's invasion of South Korea under UN Security Council Resolutions. It was the first attempt at collective security within the UN system.

The primary missions of the UNC include enforcing and upholding the armistice agreement to maintain stability and peace on the peninsula, as well as providing forces and essential supplies in the event of contingencies.

"In managing persistent security challenges, the defense ministers and representatives are determined to continue increasing mutual exchange and cooperation between the ROK-US Alliance and UNC Member States to inform our combined training and exercises," the statement said, recognizing "ongoing security challenges."

The statement also "strongly condemned the DPRK’s unlawful nuclear and ballistic missile programs which violate multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions," referring to North Korea by the acronym of its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.