STATEMENT
BY H.E. MR. GONG RO-MYUNG
AT
THE 51ST SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

September 27, 1996  New York 

Mr. President,

On behalf of the Government and people of the Republic of Korea, I would like to express my sincere
congratulations on your assumption of the presidency of this fifty-first session of the General Assembly of 
the United Nations. We are confident that under your able leadership, this Assembly will take action to
revitalize the world organization, building on the foundation laid by your distinguished predecessor, Dr. do
Amaral of Portugal. My gratitude also goes to Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali and the staff of the Secretariat 
for their excellent work for this session.

Mr. President, 

The most pressing business of this Assembly is to create the architecture for UN renewal.
The Member States, with vision and determination, need to construct, step by step, a consensus on reform 
that will not only put the Organization out of its present crisis, but will further prepare the world community 
to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. We welcome the ongoing efforts to strengthen and 
revitalize the United Nations. But at the same time we must admit that, unless progress is accelerated in the 
months ahead, there is a real danger that the momentum and sense of purpose spawned by the 50th 
Anniversary could well be lost. My Government actively supports the various working groups of the General 
Assembly as they seek ways to make the UN more effective, efficient and democratic. As a member of the 
Group of Sixteen States in Support of Renewing Multilateralism, we are also pleased to actively participate in 
the effort to enhance the princ iple of multilateralism. The Group's joint statement embodying this principle 
was reported last Wednesday to this General Assembly by Prime Minister Persson of Sweden on behalf of 
the 16 heads of state or government. All of these efforts, however, will be of no use if the Member States fail 
either to meet their financial obligations or to make the political compromises necessary to produce a 
durable package of reforms. Let us not forget that the very principles of multilateralism on which the UN was 
founded are at risk. As was so aptly put by the President of the General Assembly in his September 17 
inaugural speech, "the syndrome of business as usual" must be discarded.

Our Organization is in serious financial trouble, due to the arrears and outstanding contributions of Member
States. The Security Council needs to be modernized to reflect the expansion in UN membership, to be 
more equitably balanced geographically and to work efficiently, transparently and democratically. To better
serve the needs of economic development and to reduce duplication, we should undertake a sweeping
reassessment of the scores of subsidiary bodies of the Economic and Social Council and of the Assembly 
itself. While we welcome General Assembly resolution 50/227 as a step in the right direction, much more 
needs to be done. History will not judge the United Nations on how many committees it forms or how many 
resolutions it passes, but how much it does on the ground, day in and day out, to further peace, prosperity 
and justice for the world's peoples. 


Mr. President, 

Today, I would like to focus my remarks on four major challenges facing the United Nations and then say a 
few words about the situation on the Korean Peninsula. In considering the architecture for UN renewal, we 
should shape an Organization better prepared to respond to the following four priority needs: one, 
restraining the proliferation of dangerous and destructive weaponry, two, bolstering UN capabilities for 
effective peace-keeping and peace building; three, assisting economic and social development while 
enhancing protection of the environment; and four, improving mechanisms for ensuring respect for 
international law and human rights.

Mr. President, 

Calls for a new international order will ring hollow without more reliable controls on the spread of dangerous 
armaments, particularly those capable of mass destruction. As a supporter of the early conclusion of a 
Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty(CTBT), my Government heartily welcomed the long-awaited 
adoption of the CTBT earlier this month. The conclusion of the CTBT will help curb nuclear proliferation in all 
its forms and will contribute toward nuclear disarmament. An original signatory to the CTBT, the Republic of 
Korea aims to swiftly ratify the Treaty. In order for the CTBT to become universal and verifiable, my 
Government urges all countries to accede to the Treaty at the earliest possible date. While the Conference 
on Disarmament failed to reach a consensus on the CTBT, the Conference, through two and a half years of 
intense negotiation, was instrumental in articulating the eventual CTBT. I would like to take this opportunity 
to pay tribute to the Conference and to assure you. 


Mr. President, that the Republic of Korea, as a new member of the Conference, will spare no efforts to 
contribute to its vital work. 


Despite such progress toward a world free of nuclear weapons, the Korean Peninsula still faces the threat 
of nuclear proliferation. North Korea has yet to achieve nuclear transparency. Once again, my delegation 
urges North Korea to comply with its NPT obligations and IAEA safeguards in a comprehensive manner and 
to implement fully and faithfully the Agreed Framework between the United States and the DPRK. We also 
renew our call on North Korea to live up to its obligations under the South-North Joint Declaration on the 
Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Until they are eliminated from the face of the earth, chemical and 
biological weapons also will pose a grave threat to humanity.

Toward this end, the Republic of Korea, as an original signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention in
1993, recently concluded the domestic procedures to ratify the Convention. We look forward to its swift entry 
into force, for universal adherence to CWC is cri tical to achieving a total ban on chemical weapons. My 
delegation therefore strongly urges those countries which have not yet joined the Convention, including the 
DPRK, to do so as early as possible. Moreover, my Government, which acceded to the Biological and Toxin 
Weapons Convention in 1987, supports the efforts to introduce a strict verification system into BWC. Both of 
these non-proliferation measures are essential building blocks for world peace. My Government, moreover, 
shares the international concern over the millions of anti-personnel land mines scattered throughout the 
world. We are looking forward to working closely with other Member States to minimize the suffering and 
casualites among innocent civilians caused by these indiscriminate weapons. To this end, I am pleased to 
announce that the Republic of Korea will extend its moratorium on the export of anti-personnel land mines 
for another year.

Mr. President, 

The second priority for UN renewal should be to adapt and bolster its uniquely valuable peace-keeping and 
peace building work to meet new challenges. Following several years of rising expectations and expanding 
mandates, Member States over the past two years have developed a more sober appreciation not only of 
the limits of UN capabilities, but more importantly of their own willingness to provide the requisite material 
and human support for a more ambitious role of the world body. Both the scope and nature of peace-
keeping operations are being tested as the demands for UN involvement remain high in a world confronted 
by an alarming number of intra-state conflicts and acts of terrorism. 


Today's peace-keepers are often required to undertake diverse tasks such as monitoring violations of 
human rights, staging elections, rehabilitating civic institutions and reintegrating combatants and refugees
into peacetime society. Thus, peace-keeping now directly contributes to peace building and conflict 
prevention. Post-conflict peace building, by rehabilitating country's war-ravaged economic and social base, 
can serve to prevent recurrence of conflict. Member States should recognize, however, that the broadening 
of peace-keeping objectives should be matched by an expansion in the UN's resources and capabilities for 
carrying out these tasks. Peace, too, has a price. 


Recently, several promising proposals have been put forward for enhancing the UN's rapid deployment 
capability. We consider the UN Stand-by Arrangements System, currently comprising 59 countries, including 
the Republic of Korea, to be an innovative and practical mechanism for coping with emergency situations.

We also believe that the growing interest and participation of Member States have boosted the credibility of
the Stand-by Arrangements System, making it easier to secure the consent of parties in a given conflict to 
UN peace-keeping involvement. In addition, we support the establishment of a Rapidly Deployable
Headquarters Team within the Department of PKO, as proposed by the Friends of Rapid Deployment. The
Korean government is willing to deploy personnel to the Team as part of our contribution to strengthening
the UN's rapid deployment capability. Since we first dispatched an engineering unit to the UN peace-keeping 
operation in Somalia in 1993, the Republic of Korea has contributed to many peace-keeping operations 
around the world. We intend to expand our participation in terms of human resources, material and political 
support for practical steps to improve the UN's peace management capacity. In an uncertain world, terrorism 
poses an ever-present threat to international and domestic peace and security. Having been a direct victim 
of terrorism, the Republic of Korea strongly condemns all acts of terrorism. We urge the international 
community to take firm action to contain and combat terrorism. The Declaration on Measures to Eliminate 
International Terrorism in 1994 clearly states that terrorism in all forms is not only criminal, but also 
unjustifiable under any circumstances, regardless of political, ideological, ethnic or racial motivation. My 
Government reaffirms its strong commitment to join the ongoing efforts to eradicate terrorism worldwide.

Mr. President, 

Economic and social development should also remain a high priority at a time when scientific progress and 
information technology are globalizing the world economy at a rapid pace. Driven by unprecedented levels of 
cross-border trade and investment, globalization presents new opportunities to bolster economic 
development and improve quality of life. 


Nonetheless, we must not lose sight of the detrimental effects of this trend, which threaten to leave some 
developing countries increasingly marginalized. The United Nations has an obligation to try to help those 
least developed countries, particularly in Africa, that are truly in need. My delegation fully supports the UN 
System-wide Special Initiative for Development in Africa, a joint undertaking by the UN and Bretton Woods 
institutions launched last March. We look forward to joining other Member States in a common effort to bring 
this worthy endeavor to fruition. Having risen from the devastation of the Korean War, the Republic of Korea 
has achieved sustained economic growth and advancements in living standards over the past three 
decades. Seeking to share the lessons from our own development experience, we have worked to help 
other developing countries apply two key elements of our own growth: capacity-building and human 
resource development. The Korean International Cooperation Agency is implementing diverse programs to 
assist other developing countries in this regard. At the same time, Korea will increase its voluntary 
contribution to the operational activities of the UN by 120% during 1996-97. In these and many other ways, 
we are determined to participate in UN efforts to bring about economic and social progress throughout the 
world. 


Since 1994, my Government has worked with UNDP to establish the International Vaccine Institute(IVI) in
Seoul. This Institute will be dedicated to capacity-building for developing countries in the development and
use of vaccines, particularly for children and the impoverished. The official launching of the International
Vaccine Institute will take place in New York on the 28th of October. We would encourage as many countries 
as possible to show support for this worthy and noble project by becoming party to the Agreement. 


The emergence of unprecedented global environmental issues such as climate change and bio-diversity 
calls for genuine global partnership based on equitable burden-sharing. The special session on 
environmental issues of the UN General Assembly in 1997 will provide us with a valuable opportunity to
formulate a clear sustainable development strategy for the twenty-first century. On June 5, 1997, 
immediately before the special session, my government will co-host "World Environment Day" together with 
UNEP as part of our efforts to contribute to the resolution of environmental issues.

Mr. President, 

The fourth theme for UN renewal, in our view, should be to reinforce the UN's unique capacity for codifying, 
monitoring and encouraging respect for international law and human rights. As the Charter so eloquently 
attests, genuine peace and stability depend upon a healthy respect for international law and human rights 
norms. The United Nations's continuing commitment to human rights and social justice was reaffirmed by 
a series of international conferences during the 1990s. They include the Vienna World Conference on 
Human Rights in 1993 and the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995. 


In particular, the Beijing Conference underscored the critical principle that gender equality -- through the 
protection of women's human rights and the eradication of all forms of violence against women -- forms the 
foundation of a sound and prosperous society. The Republic of Korea is committed to maintaining its 
support for international efforts to advance the status of women. All of us need to do more, however, to help 
the United Nations live up to its potential for promoting human rights. Its mechanisms for furthering respect 
for universal human rights need to be reinforced and upgraded across-the-board. We need to enhance the 
coordinating role of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and of the resources of the Centre for Human 
Rights. The Korean Government will do its best to make a meaningful contribution to this end. Envisioned 
since the Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals of a half-century ago, the idea for an international court to p unish 
crimes against humanity is now being materialized, even as the Yugoslavia and Rwanda Tribunals are 
struggling to bring to justice criminals who have committed genocide and other mass crimes. A preparatory 
committee is refining the draft Statute of the International Criminal Court prepared by the International Law 
Commission. We look forward to the early establishment of the Court which we believe will deter violators of 
human rights. We also welcome the establishment of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea 
(ITLOS), which should contribute significantly to the strengthening of international law and order. The road to 
democracy in the Republic of Korea has been long and difficult. Indeed, laying the foundation for democracy 
in a developing country is never easy. It requires a vigilant public, conscious of democracy and human 
rights, and a government willing to nurture the will of its citizens. This has been and will remain a primary 
objective of the Korean Government. We are making every effort to further promote human rights and 
democracy through the enhancement of our legal and institutional mechanisms. My Government has also 
been active in the endeavor to assist the democratic impulse throughout the world. Lending our support to 
the electoral assistance activities of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe(OSCE), we 
provided a dozen election monitors as well as supplies for the international operation to ensure free and fair 
elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In the past, we also participated in the electoral observer missions in 
Mozambique, Cambodia, South Africa, and Palestine.

Mr. President, 

Let me now turn to the situation on the Korean Peninsula. Despite the easing of tensions worldwide since 
the end of the Cold War, the Korean Peninsula continues to be a source of instability, posing threats to the 
peace and and security of Northeast Asia and beyond. Unfortunately, the tides of openness and 
reconciliation that swept other parts of the world have not yet reached the Korean Peninsula, the last 
remaining legacy of the Cold War. North Korea last week dispatched a military submarine to infiltrate armed 
agents into the South. We uncovered this infiltration when the submarine ran aground on the shore of 
Kangnung, a city on the South Korean east coast, and 26 armed agents are believed to have come ashore. 
Of these, 21 were killed and one was captured. According to the captured agent, the armed infiltrators were 
all military officers from the North Korean Defense Ministry. Subsequent examinations also revealed 
shocking findings: The 11 North Koreans found dead on the day of landing were apparently killed by their 
cohorts for reasons unknown. 


The investigation is still underway to find out the purpose of the infiltration and other details, but the findings 
to date present a strong possibility that last week's infiltration is part of a larger scale infiltration operation. 
This brazen act of military provocation by North Korea constitutes not only a serious infringement of our 
territorial waters, but also a blatant violation of the Armistice Agreement. It also clearly demonstrates that 
North Korea still seeks Korean reunification by any means including use of force. Needless to say, this act 
of provocation poses a direct threat to peace and stability on and around the Korean Peninsula. We, once 
again, urge that North Korea immediately renounce its absurd goal of reunifying Korea by force and pursue 
peaceful co-existence with the South. The North should also abide by the Armistice Agreement and end any 
attempt to disrupt the current armistice regime. We also take this opportunity to renew our call on North 
Korea to accept our proposal for four-party talks involving both Koreas, China and the US, which will enable 
constructive negotiations for the establishment of a lasting peace regime on the Peninsula. In the absence 
of Pyongyang's positive response and given this serious incident of North Korea's violation of the Armistice,
my country firmly believes that the Armistice Agreement should remain in full force.

Mr. President, 

At the historic fiftieth session of the General Assembly, we took a collective look at where the United Nations 
had been and where it was going. In an open and forward-looking spirit, we compared visions about the 
kind of world body that will be needed to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. Now, with this fifty-
first session, comes the hard part: redoubling our collective commitment to the world body so that it can 
become a means for translating our visions into realities. Together, can we fashion the architecture of UN 
renewal? Can we achieve harmony out of diversity? Can we refocus our energies on the four priorities of 
stemming the spread of weapons of mass destruction, of bolstering UN peace-keeping and peace building 
capabilities, of advancing sustainable economic and social development, and of reinforcing our joint 
commitment to international law and human right? The answer to these questions must be a resounding 
collective "yes." The Republic of Korea stands ready to make its share of contributions, through the United 
Nations, to meet the challenges of the next century.

Thank you, Mr. President.