South Korea, 1997

I congratulate you,

Sir, on assuming the presidency of the fifty-second

session of the General Assembly and pledge to you our

full support and cooperation. I also pay tribute to your

predecessor, Ambassador Razali Ismail, whose devoted

efforts enabled the fifty-first session of the General

Assembly to come to grips with some of the core issues

affecting the future of the United Nations.

We meet at a time when a number of profound

questions loom large over humankind. Does the

international community possess the necessary will and

5

means to make the twenty-first century an era of wider

peace, deeper justice and greater prosperity? Can we

eradicate poverty and protect the environment? Are we able

to ensure that fundamental human rights are respected and

promoted throughout the world? Can we reinvigorate the

United Nations so that it can be the means to advance these

ends? To each of these questions we can and must respond

in the affirmative.

The Secretary-General, through his recent reform

proposals, has provided the international community with

a timely compass to help guide the way. In the view of my

delegation, the Secretary- General's latest proposals contain

a wide spectrum of reforms designed for the overall

enhancement of the United Nations system. We are

confident that many of the Secretary-General's ideas can be

translated into action through open-minded deliberation,

with the full participation of Member States at this session.

In this respect, I wish to recall the statement of 10 August

by the Group of 16, including the Republic of Korea, which

expressed support for the Secretary-General's reform

initiatives.

While institutional reform is a prerequisite for a more

efficient United Nations, it is clear that without more

reliable financial support the Organization cannot make an

efficient transition into the twenty-first century. Only when

Member States discharge their financial obligations in full,

on time and without conditions will the United Nations

safely and smoothly reach its ultimate destination of

ensuring a better future for humankind.

It is in this spirit that Korea has made it a firm policy

to pay its assessed dues in full and on time. We will

actively participate in concerted efforts to adopt a more

equitable scale of assessment at this session. My

Government will consider a gradual move from the

contributors' Group C to which Korea presently belongs, to

Group B in terms of peacekeeping assessment. This is a

reaffirmation of our enduring commitment towards both the

financial viability of the United Nations and its efforts to

maintain international peace and security.

Another crucial task before us is the reform of the

Security Council. At the last session, my delegation actively

participated in deliberations on the issue, on the basis of

our own experiences as a Council member. We share the

view that the profound changes in international relations

over the past several decades fully warrant expansion of

Council membership. Given the diverse and sensitive

concerns of all Member States, however, this issue must be

handled with the utmost prudence and seriousness. Every

effort should be made to work out a consensus formula,

while bearing in mind that haste makes waste.

One of the most significant and promising

developments in international relations over the past half

century has been the emergence of a considerable number

of medium-power countries with the capability to make a

meaningful contribution to the cause of international

peace and security. Any plan to reform the Council

should provide those countries with opportunities to serve

on the Council with reasonable frequency, commensurate

with their capabilities and contributions.

We also believe that Council reform should be based

upon consideration of the problems and shortcomings

associated with the Council's operations thus far,

particularly with respect to the system of permanent

membership and the right of veto. Convinced that more

can be done to make the Security Council a more

representative, efficient and democratic body, we will

remain open-minded and flexible with regard to any

proposals that can move this important process in the

right direction.

As a member of the Security Council for the 1996-

1997 period, the Republic of Korea has made its due

contribution to the cause of international peace and

security. We have actively participated in reaching

important decisions to enhance peace and stability in the

countries of some parts of the third world that have been

plagued by civil conflicts over the past several years. We

also organized, during Korea's presidency of the Council

last May, an open debate on the refugee issue. The debate

resulted in the adoption of a presidential statement in June

on protection for humanitarian assistance to refugees and

others in conflict situations. This clearly reflects the fact

that the Security Council has come to recognize that

security applies to people as much as to States in an era

of intra-State conflicts.

Despite many positive developments in the security

landscape of the post Cold-War era, the non-proliferation

of weapons of mass destruction remains a priority concern

to people and Governments alike. My Government

believes that universal adherence to the existing non-

proliferation regimes represents an essential step towards

realizing that common objective. In this regard, we

welcome the entry into force of the Chemical Weapons

Convention, and urge those States which have not yet

acceded to the Convention, including North Korea, to do

so at the earliest date.

6

The proliferation and indiscriminate use of anti-

personnel landmines has been the cause of enormous

human suffering and injury, particularly among civilians.

Given the magnitude of the scourge of anti-personnel

landmines, the Republic of Korea has decided to extend for

an indefinite period its moratorium on the export of anti-

personnel landmines, which was to expire at the end of this

year. We believe, however, that each country's legitimate

security concerns should be given due consideration in

addressing this matter.

I wish to reiterate that, while we fully support the

noble crusade to protect innocent civilians from anti-

personnel landmines, a sweeping ban cannot be a

satisfactory answer for a country like the Republic of

Korea, which faces the real and present risk of a recurrence

of all-out war, and whose heavily populated capital is only

25 miles from the military demarcation line. In our view,

the draft convention adopted in Oslo two weeks ago does

not fully accommodate concerns which we have

consistently expressed, or the exceptional nature of the

security situation on the Korean peninsula.

The international community has consistently

endeavoured to wipe out all forms of terrorism from the

face of the earth. However, terrorism still persists as one of

the major threats to international peace, exacting a heavy

toll on innocent lives. The Republic of Korea has

experienced many barbaric and cowardly acts of terrorism

and still lives under its constant threat, including recent

open threats aimed at our free press. We strongly support

international efforts to combat terrorism and underline the

importance of upholding the principle of zero tolerance.

Given the global spectrum of terrorism, we also believe that

the United Nations can play a central role in strengthening

the international anti-terrorism regime. In this regard, we

look forward to an early adoption of the convention for the

suppression of terrorist bombings.

In this era of interdependence among States, the

international community cannot remain indifferent to the

under-development of much of the world. My delegation

therefore welcomes the adoption of the Agenda for

Development at the previous session of the General

Assembly and the Secretary-General's reform proposals

designed to enhance the United Nations economic and

social initiatives as well as its development activities. For

that reason, we support the Secretary-General's suggestion

to enhance the coordinating role of the Economic and

Social Council and to strengthen cooperation between the

United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions. We

expect that the various proposals for a funding modality for

United Nations development activities will be discussed

fully at this session.

Korea, now a member of the Organization for

Economic Cooperation and Development, will participate

more vigorously in South-South cooperation projects with

a view to playing a bridging role between developed and

developing countries. In an effort to expand assistance to

the least developed countries, we have participated in

bilateral cooperation projects with the Economic

Commission for Africa since 1995, and we plan to

undertake a programme for the development of Africa for

the period 1998 to 2000.

My Government, jointly with the United Nations

Development Programme, established in Seoul this past

May the International Vaccine Institute. This Institute is

devoted to the research and development of vaccines for

children around the world, particularly those in

developing countries. The inaugural meeting of its board

of trustees is scheduled to convene in Seoul next month.

We look forward to generous support from Member

States for this worthy goal of keeping our children free

from debilitating diseases.

Turning now to environmental issues, my

Government welcomes the adoption of the Programme for

Further Implementation of Agenda 21 at the nineteenth

special session of the General Assembly and stands

committed to participating faithfully in its implementation.

In particular, we are pleased that Korea's proposal to

conduct a feasibility study on the transfer of publicly

owned technology was supported by developed and

developing countries alike and was included in the

Programme. The results of the feasibility study, which is

being funded by my Government, will be presented at the

sixth session of the Commission on Sustainable

Development next April. Through these efforts, we hope

to expedite the transfer of environmentally sound

technologies and to promote international cooperation for

environmental protection.

During the special session, there was also an in-

depth discussion on the safe management of radioactive

waste, an issue of serious concern to many countries. My

Government attaches great importance to the fact that the

special session adopted a comprehensive set of

arrangements on the environmentally sound management

of these dangerous wastes. We strongly urge that these

arrangements be firmly and strictly adhered to and

respected.

7

With regard to the United Nations Framework

Convention on Climate Change, we hope that a realistic and

achievable outcome will emerge at the Kyoto Conference

to be held in December this year.

Next year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the

adoption and proclamation of the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights. In 1998, we are also to undertake the five-

year mid-term review of the implementation of the Vienna

Declaration and Programme of Action adopted in June

1993.

In the view of my delegation, human rights is an area

where the United Nations has made significant contributions

over the past half century, not just as an international forum

for discussion, but also as a centre for coordinated action.

Seen from this perspective, the consolidation of the Office

of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the

Centre for Human Rights, as proposed in the Secretary-

General's report, should certainly inject new vitality into

United Nations efforts to enhance the coordination of its

activities in the area of human rights. I wholeheartedly

welcome Mary Robinson's assumption of the post of High

Commissioner.

My Government also welcomes the remarkable

progress made by the Preparatory Committee on the

Establishment of an International Criminal Court, which we

believe will serve as an effective deterrent against violations

of international humanitarian law. We expect that the

forthcoming conference in Rome will adopt the statute of

the court, paving the way for its establishment at the

earliest possible date. From a historical perspective, the

creation of a permanent international criminal court will set

a benchmark for the attainment of international criminal

justice in the coming century.

As rightly pointed out in the Secretary-General's

report, the developments in the present decade have clearly

strengthened the argument that respect for human rights is

a precondition for political stability and socio-economic

progress. One of the United Nations' most compelling

responsibilities is to further promote universal respect for

human rights and deter gross human rights abuses and

political oppression. In this context, we are gravely

concerned at the dire human rights situation in North

Korea. We truly hope that, in the not-too-distant future, our

compatriots in the North will come to enjoy basic human

rights and freedoms, as other peoples do around the world.

Let me now turn to the situation on the Korean

Peninsula. In April last year, the Republic of Korea and the

United States jointly proposed four-party talks, involving

the South and the North of Korea, the United States and

China, which aim to establish a permanent peace

mechanism on the Korean Peninsula and build mutual

trust between the two sides of Korea. The four-party

talks, when realized, will offer rare chances of facilitating

peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and

throughout North-east Asia.

If inter-Korean relations are to move forward and the

outstanding problems of the Peninsula are to be resolved

peacefully, there is no alternative to dialogue and

reconciliation between the South and the North of Korea.

We sincerely hope that North Korea will realize the

importance and value of improved inter-Korean relations

through its participation in the four-party talks. While the

talks are in the interest of all concerned, no one stands to

benefit more than North Korea itself. The construction of

a solid and durable peace structure on the Korean

Peninsula will also produce generous dividends which can

help North Korea in addressing a host of domestic

challenges it faces, including its economic difficulties.

It is regrettable that the recent preparatory meetings

for the four-party talks ended without any tangible result.

Nevertheless, we will continue our patient effort to

engage North Korea in a process of dialogue. We

appreciate the continued support of the international

community to this end.

In the meantime, the Republic of Korea will

continue to provide humanitarian assistance to North

Korea. The plight of innocent civilians in the North and,

in particular, vulnerable groups such as malnourished

children, is a matter of serious concern for the

Government and people of the Republic of Korea. As a

matter of priority, my Government will provide assistance

to the vulnerable children in North Korea in close

cooperation with the United Nations Children's Fund and

other interested countries. In this connection, we would

like to stress the vital importance of transparency in the

distribution process. We hope that such transparency can

be enhanced through more effective monitoring by the

international organizations concerned.

This year has seen some positive developments in

international efforts to resolve the long-standing North

Korean nuclear issue. The 1994 Geneva Agreed

Framework has now entered the implementation stage,

with the ground-breaking ceremony for the light-water

reactor project in North Korea last month under the

auspices of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development

8

Organization (KEDO). For the first time in nearly five

decades, over 100 engineers and technicians of both sides

of Korea are working together on the construction site. We

hope that this welcome development will be a harbinger of

a new era in inter-Korean relations. My Government takes

this opportunity to express its appreciation to all those

countries which have extended generous financial

contributions to KEDO.

While the ongoing light-water reactor project

undertaken by KEDO is an important step forward in

eliminating the threat of nuclear proliferation in the Korean

peninsula, it must be emphasized here once again that the

ultimate resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue is

possible only when North Korea complies fully with its

safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy

Agency, as well as with the Joint Declaration on the

Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula signed by the

South and North Korea in 1991.

When the United Nations was founded in 1945, who

could have foreseen the extent to which international

relations would develop during the next half-century? No

doubt, a number of geopolitical structural changes will

occur in the coming century as well.

At the threshold of the twenty-first century, this

session of the General Assembly could well prove to be a

turning point by providing a forum for reconfiguring the

architecture and priorities of the Organization. Facing a new

array of challenges, this session should point the way

towards a brighter future and a renewed sense of optimism.

Together, we can forge a stronger United Nations and,

through it, the foundation for a century of peace, prosperity

and justice. The Republic of Korea stands ready to do its

due part.