South Korea, 2002

The

tragic events of 11 September 2001 awakened the

international community to the gravity of a new

menace to world peace and security. The lighting of the

eternal flame during the commemorative service in

Battery Park was mirrored by the outpouring of

sympathy from around the globe and the world became

one again, reaching out to those who lost their loved

ones on that fateful day.

The global community responded promptly and

decisively to the scourge of terrorism. Over the past

year, international cooperation has been strengthened

in our relentless campaign against terrorism. The

Security Council, in particular, has played a

commendable role in this process through its Counter-

Terrorism Committee. The Republic of Korea has been

an active member of the international coalition against

terrorism. We are now working with other countries to

contribute to the rehabilitation of Afghanistan.

As we conduct our resolute fight against

terrorism, we should also consider that deprivation,

lack of good governance and marginalization from the

process of globalization can serve as a breeding ground

for fanatics who can go so far as to take their own lives

just to harm others. The international community

should, therefore, take a holistic approach, while

bearing in mind at all times that terrorism cannot be

justified by any cause or under any circumstances

whatsoever.

The events of 11 September have also brought

home to the world the appalling dangers of weapons of

mass destruction falling into the wrong hands.

Moreover, the prevailing international reality

underscores the urgent need to make progress in

disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass

destruction.

It is essential that we achieve universality of non-

proliferation regimes including the Treaty on the

Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the Chemical

Weapons Convention and the Biological Weapons

Convention while ensuring full compliance by all

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States parties to such regimes. We also hope that a total

ban on nuclear testing and fissile material production

will be achieved through the early entry into force of

the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and an

expeditious conclusion of a fissile material cut-off

treaty. In that regard, I would like to underline the

Republic of Korea's full commitment to strengthening

multilateral collaboration to promote the cause of

disarmament and non-proliferation.

Since its inception, the United Nations has played

a key role in securing peace and stability in the

troubled corners of the world. Indeed, the work of the

United Nations in conflict prevention, peacemaking,

peacekeeping and peace-building has expanded in

recent years.

East Timor is the latest success for which the

United Nations deserves praise. As a Member State

committed to the coalition of the willing, the Republic

of Korea has actively taken part in the United Nations

efforts in East Timor and other parts of the world.

Moreover, our overall financial contribution to United

Nations peacekeeping operations has grown

approximately tenfold over the past three years. The

Republic of Korea intends to strengthen its

involvement in these crucial United Nations activities.

The Korean peninsula is still one of the world's

most volatile areas. Nevertheless, President Kim Dae-

jung's unwavering pursuit of his engagement policy is

fundamentally reshaping inter-Korean relations. That

engagement policy is, in essence, a strategy for peace

through engagement, designed to cope with the

multiple challenges inherent in inter-Korean relations

on the road to eventual unification. As such, it aims at

fostering inter-Korean reconciliation, promoting

cooperation and exchanges, reducing tension and

building durable peace on the peninsula.

The highlight of the engagement policy was the

holding of the historic summit between South Korea

and North Korea in June 2000. The summit set in

motion an inter-Korean peace process. After ups and

downs along the way, the peace process is finally back

on track and moving forward again. Inter-Korean

meetings at various levels have resumed, as have

exchanges in all areas. In fact, on this very day, at

Mount Kumgang, the fifth round of reunions between

separated family members is taking place. Next week,

South Korea and North Korea will hold the long-

anticipated ground-breaking ceremonies marking the

start of construction work for the reconnecting of

railways and roads that have remained severed for five

decades. Since those projects literally involve a

breakthrough in the heavily fortified border and require

a certain level of military-to-military cooperation, they

will hold not only great practical benefit but also

tremendous symbolic significance. As we look ahead to

the completion of the trans-Korean railway, this clearly

promises to have far-reaching interregional

implications for accomplishing the vision of an iron

silk road, a rail link joining Asia and Europe.

The overall progress report to date amply

demonstrates that the engagement policy works. The

Korean people on both sides of the peninsula today

enjoy a stronger peace than ever, and the risk of war is

at an all-time low since the end of the Korean War, in

1950. However, it is not yet time to be complacent, as

we have still a long way to go if the peace process is to

prove irreversible and fully sustainable.

One important challenge to the peace process

relates to the proliferation of weapons of mass

destruction. We continue to believe that the 1994

Geneva Agreed Framework holds the best hope for

removing concerns over nuclear proliferation from the

Korean peninsula. However, at the moment, the Agreed

Framework has reached a critical juncture. As the light

water reactor project progresses, it is now essential that

full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy

Agency begin without further delay for the

implementation of the safeguards requirements of the

Agreed Framework.

The path to world peace runs through more

equitable economic and social development. In that

regard, we attach great importance to the United

Nations Agenda for Development and, in particular, to

the implementation of the United Nations Millennium

Declaration. The International Conference on

Financing for Development, held in Monterrey in

March of this year, was a success in the area of

enhancing shared awareness of the primary

responsibility of developing countries themselves, as

well as in emphasizing the need for more substantial

input from developed countries. The Political

Declaration and Plan of Implementation adopted at the

recent World Summit on Sustainable Development are

also of great significance, as they have set out a time-

bound plan of action for humanity's quest to preserve

the planet for posterity. The unprecedented advances in

information and communication technologies are also

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widening the gap between the front runners and those

who lag behind. We hope that the United Nations and

other relevant international organizations will become

more proactive in bridging the digital divide between

developed and developing nations.

The last century witnessed the steady advance

and triumph of democracy and human rights as

universal values around the globe. As it has been so

eloquently put, liberty, when it begins to take root, is a

plant of rapid growth indeed. The human rights

situation in any given country is no longer an

exclusively domestic affair. The issue of human rights

has become a priority agenda item for the international

community. During the last session of the General

Assembly, special attention was paid to the human

rights of such vulnerable groups as children and the

elderly. We sincerely hope that the pledges made at the

Second World Assembly on Ageing, as well as at the

special session on children, will be translated into

concrete action.

The Republic of Korea has a firm commitment to

international cooperation for the promotion of

democracy and human rights. We plan to host the

second Ministerial Conference of the Community of

Democracies in Seoul in November of this year. We are

working with other Convening Group countries to

ensure that this proves a momentous occasion in the

protection, consolidation and advancement of

democracy the world over. We also welcome the

renewed commitment of the international community

to combat such growing problems of horrific

transnational crime as the trafficking in persons.

Over the past half century, the United Nations has

made outstanding contributions to causes of great

importance to humankind. However, the world body

cannot possibly meet all expectations. Given the

limited means and resources available to it, the United

Nations should focus on areas in which it can excel,

making the best use of its comprehensive mandate and

the universality of its membership. In that regard, the

Republic of Korea strongly supports the ongoing

reforms that Secretary-General Kofi Annan has been

pursuing with a view to achieving a more effective and

efficient United Nations.

In closing, I would like to say that the United

Nations is the embodiment of globalism and the

epitome of multilateral cooperation. As such, the

international community looks to the United Nations

for guidance and effective action in the whole spectrum

of areas under its mandate.

The Republic of Korea reaffirms its firm

commitment to working in concert with other Member

States to make the United Nations more relevant and

efficient, and thus better able to meet the challenges

ahead global challenges indeed.