South Korea, 2010

I would

like to begin by extending my warmest congratulations

to you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency at the

sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly. I have

every confidence that under your distinguished

leadership this session will indeed yield fruitful results.

May I also take this opportunity to pay tribute to

Secretary-General Ban Ki moon. We deeply appreciate

his wholehearted commitment and selfless dedication

to the noble and lofty goals of this august

Organization.

Since their launch in 2000, we have made

headway towards achieving the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs). Yet progress varies

greatly across regions and countries and is uneven in

terms of targets. Among other things, maternal and

child health warrants our special attention as the most

off-track goal in most regions. Indeed, improving

maternal and child health is the best investment we can

make to carry momentum over to all other closely

related goals. In view of the importance it attaches to

this goal, the Republic of Korea has joined the Group

of 8 Muskoka Initiative for Maternal, Newborn and

Child Health. Furthermore, Korea fully supports the

Secretary-General’s pursuit of the Global Strategy for

Women’s and Children’s Health, and it welcomes the

enthusiasm of all stakeholders for this important

initiative, as was demonstrated at this week’s meeting.

With only five years remaining until 2015, the

prospects for meeting the MDGs are not altogether

encouraging. It is high time for the international

community to renew its resolve and galvanize global

efforts to achieve these vast and meaningful goals. I

earnestly hope that, when we gather again in 2013 to

review progress, we will find that implementation of

the commitments at the High-level Meeting held earlier

this week exceeds our most optimistic expectations.

We must bear in mind that the success of the

MDGs hinges on honouring development commitments

and redoubling efforts to strengthen global partnership.

In full recognition of this, the Republic of Korea has

embarked on a midterm plan to triple its official

development assistance (ODA) budget over the next

five years to 0.25 per cent of gross national income,

despite tight financial constraints.

As a new Member of the Organization for

Economic Cooperation and Development Assistance

Committee, Korea is seeking to improve the quality of

its development assistance by undertaking far-reaching

reforms in its ODA system. Last year, basic laws on

ODA were enacted as the first step forward. Korea will

also align its development policy to reflect the actual

needs of the recipient countries and encourage their

taking ownership. With its unique experience of fast

economic and social development, Korea will do its

utmost to play a bridging role between the donor and

recipient countries.

Next year, Korea will host the Fourth High-Level

Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan. The Korean

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Government will make every possible effort to ensure

that this forum serves to map out a new direction for

international development cooperation that can address

evolving global needs.

It is indeed our common belief that development

cooperation is an investment for all. A sustainable and

balanced world economy requires us to narrow down

the persistent development gap. This is the shared goal

of the Group of 20 (G-20) and the United Nations. The

G-20 leaders have agreed to place development as a

crucial new item on the agenda for the upcoming G-20

summit in Seoul this November. The G-20

development agenda will concentrate on building

capacity to promote economic growth in the

developing world. In this way, the Group of 20 is

expected to complement the ongoing development

agenda, including the MDGs.

Global financial safety nets will be another new

agenda item at the Seoul summit. Robust and reliable

global financial safety nets are vital, especially for

developing countries, which are most vulnerable to

volatile global capital flows. The Seoul summit will

focus on faithful implementation of the previous

agreements, which will help to bring back the stability

of the global market at an early date. Leaders will

continue to coordinate their policies for a strong,

sustainable and balanced growth of the world economy.

Reforms of international financial institutions and

financial regulations will also be central to the

discussion at the G-20 summit.

As the G-20 President this year, Korea is

committed to ensuring a successful outcome for the

summit, one that will contribute to overcoming the

current crisis and to working out the post-crisis

management of the world economy.

In discussing economic growth, particular

emphasis must be placed on green growth. Indeed, this

lies at the heart of sustainable development. In an

effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions, Korea has set

a voluntary reduction target of 30 per cent against the

business-as-usual levels by 2020. Together, we will

gradually shift the growth paradigm from an energy-

intensive to a green growth economy.

As part of the efforts to promote the green growth

strategy in the international community, we launched

the Global Green Growth Institute last June. We hope

that this institute will become an integral part of the

global endeavour to move towards sustainable

development as Korea strives to share green growth

vision and assistance with developing countries.

On the peace and security front, peacekeeping

operations have become the most visible and defining

feature of the United Nations. The increasing demand

and growing complexity of peacekeeping operations

call for continuous improvement in the operation of the

missions.

Strategic goals should be set more clearly. The

troops should be deployed more swiftly. Operations

should be conducted in a more professional and

disciplined way. To this end, all stakeholders, including

troop-contributing countries and financial contributors,

should focus on close coordination and cooperation.

The Republic of Korea has been a committed

contributor to United Nations peacekeeping efforts.

Korea dispatched 240 contingent troops this year alone

to the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti to

help rebuild the country shaken by a tragic earthquake.

Currently, some 650 Korean soldiers are serving in

11 peacekeeping missions, including the United

Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. We believe that our

newly enacted law on participation in peacekeeping

operations will further enhance our response capacity

in United Nations peacekeeping and peacebuilding

operations.

One of the most urgent security challenges today

is the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and

their means of delivery. It is imperative to further

strengthen international disarmament and

non-proliferation regimes built around the Nuclear

Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

In this regard, Korea welcomes the adoption of

the Final Document at the 2010 NPT Review

Conference in May. We trust that this hard-won

achievement will lay the groundwork for future

progress in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

The nexus between weapons of mass destruction

and terrorism also poses a grave risk to global security.

With this shared understanding, the leaders at the

Nuclear Security Summit held in Washington, D.C.,

last April recognized the potentially catastrophic

consequences of nuclear terrorism and committed to

strengthening nuclear security. It was agreed that

concrete steps for securing nuclear materials should be

taken to prevent them from falling into the hands of

terrorists. We look forward to follow-up discussions on

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nuclear security at the second Nuclear Security

Summit, which is to be held in Korea in 2012.

In August, President Lee Myung-bak of the

Republic of Korea proposed a new vision of the

peaceful reunification of Korea, which will serve to

stabilize inter-Korean relations and ultimately bring

about a reunified Korea. To make this vision reality, we

will work earnestly to build three communities: a peace

community to ensure security and peace on the Korean

peninsula; an economic community to develop North

Korea’s economy and eventually achieve inter-Korean

economic integration; and a community of the Korean

nation which will ensure the dignity, freedom and

human rights of all individuals.

However, this vision for peaceful reunification is

not without obstacles. Sixty years after the outbreak of

the Korean War in 1950, there still remain threats to

peace on the Korean peninsula. A case in point is the

sinking of the Republic of Korea’s naval vessel, the

Cheonan, by a North Korean torpedo attack on

26 March this year. The international community sent a

firm and unified message to North Korea by adopting

the Security Council presidential statement of 9 July.

North Korea must take responsibility for its

unprovoked attack and refrain from any further

provocations.

The biggest obstacle in our path towards a peace

community is the resolution of the North Korean

nuclear issue. Unless North Korea forgoes its nuclear

weapons programme, no sustainable peace can be

achieved on the Korean peninsula and beyond.

Through the adoption of Security Council

resolutions 1718 (2006) and 1874 (2009), the

international community urged North Korea to abandon

all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programmes

in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner. In

order to secure the lifting of sanctions and the ending

of isolation, North Korea should make the strategic

decision to live up to its commitments to

denuclearization. A nuclear-free North Korea would

also open the way to saving its people from the current

miserable human rights and humanitarian situation.

Last year, on this very occasion, President Lee

proposed the “grand bargain” initiative: a single

comprehensive agreement that encompasses all steps

for North Korea’s denuclearization and the five parties’

corresponding measures. Together with the

international community, we will work tirelessly to

persuade North Korea to make the right choice — a

choice that will ensure a better future for both its

country and its people. Once North Korea demonstrates

genuine change in its behaviour and attitude, my

Government is prepared to engage in meaningful

dialogue and cooperation with North Korea.

We are witnessing many global challenges that

are testing the international community. These

challenges cannot be addressed by one country alone or

even by a group of countries. They summon us as

global citizens to fulfil a common purpose. They call

on the United Nations to assume the mantle of global

leadership. In order to effectively address the

increasingly diverse and interconnected challenges, the

United Nations should heighten its reform efforts

aimed at broadening its operational response capacity.

The launch of UN Women is a clear testimony to

the world community’s efforts towards this end. Korea

commends that historic move to step up progress in

meeting the needs of women and girls worldwide. UN

Women will greatly contribute to enhancing system-

wide coherence, bringing together resources and

mandates for greater impact. We also welcome the

recent appointment of Michelle Bachelet at its helm.

Furthermore, the upcoming review of the Human

Rights Council represents an excellent opportunity to

muster our collective efforts to make the Council more

effective and efficient at fulfilling the promises we

made at its establishment. The Republic of Korea looks

forward to working closely with the international

community in this joint effort.

No reform of the United Nations can be complete

without Security Council reform. It is crucial that the

Council be more representative, effective and

accountable. To this end, the Republic of Korea will

continue to play a constructive role in finding the

widest possible agreement on the major issues relating

to Council reform.

The challenges facing the United Nations are

formidable. We may succeed in some endeavours and

not in others, but we should not forget that the United

Nations is the best source of hope for many who are

suffering from armed conflicts, extreme poverty and

human rights abuses across the globe. The Republic of

Korea remains fully committed to playing its due part

in the efforts of the United Nations to translate those

hopes into reality.