1. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se delivered a keynote speech at an event to mark the 68th United Nations Day, which was hosted by the UN Association of Korea at Plaza Hotel on October 24. In his speech, Minister Yun reflected on the ROK’s admission to the UN 22 years ago and its subsequent achievements of becoming a member of three major Councils of the UN – the Security Council, Human Rights Council and Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Minister Yun also reaffirmed the Park Geun-hye government’s willingness to actively contribute to fulfilling the core values and visions of the UN.

o The luncheon was attended by about 200 people, including around 50 members of the diplomatic corps in the ROK, representatives from international organizations in the ROK and foreign ambassadors to the ROK, as well as academics and journalists. 

2. Minister Yun explained that the Park Geun-hye government proposed the foreign policy vision of the “happiness of the global community” to uphold the UN’s universal values of peace, human rights and development. He also stressed that the ROK’s policy on global governance, including the UN, was incorporated as one of the three major pillars of the ROK’s overall foreign policy – policy towards North Korea and policy towards major partners and regions being the other two.

o On “peace,” Minister Yun condemned the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their means of delivery, including Syria’s chemical weapons and Iran’s nuclear programs and stressed that it represents the most serious threat to international peace and security. He expressed his support for the international community’s efforts to resolve the issue.

o On “human rights,” Minister Yun emphasized that issues of humanitarian and human rights concerns are basic responsibilities of the international community that should not be neglected and called for international efforts to support asylum seekers and to resolve the issue of sexual violence in conflict.

o On “development,” Minister Yun said that the ROK will join global efforts to tackle under-development and poverty based on its development experiences and pursue recipient-oriented development cooperation policy in line with the post-2015 development goals.

3. Concerning the North Korean nuclear issue, Minister Yun stressed that North Korea’s pursuit of a nuclear weapons program despite universal opposition of the international community and numerous Security Council resolutions is a direct challenge to the authority of the UN and the international community. He urged North Korea to choose the path towards genuine change as soon as possible, as requested by the entire international community.

4. In addition, Minister Yun reaffirmed the ROK’s firm willingness to continue to take on an active role, along with the UN, in addressing global challenges that require global responses, including climate change, environment, finance and cyber-security. He explained that as a part of such efforts, the ROK launched MIKTA, a middle-power consultation mechanism between foreign ministers, on the sidelines of UN General Assembly in September, and announced the Seoul framework and commitments at the Seoul Conference on Cyberspace last week.

  
                 Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

* unofficial translation