Stop New Zealand’s “Reparticipation” in a New Korean War
Peter Wilson, Secretary, NZ DPRK Society
South Korea media has reported that NZ will be asked to attend a meeting later this year of the 16 countries or “sending states” that provided support to the disastrous 1950 -53 Korean War. [1]
A South Korea Defense Ministry senior official told The Korea Herald that “Since 1953, we have not reconfirmed if the UN Command sending states still have the intention to abide by their commitment to reparticipating in the war.”
Further, the South Korea’s Defense Ministry “plans to take the initiative in launching substantial multilateral discussions on procedures on how the UN Command sending states can dispatch their forces to the Korean Peninsula in an emergency.”
The USA intervened in Korea, and subsequently in Vietnam, with the objective of eliminating the governments of Kim Il-sung and Ho Chi Minh. This they did not achieve. Indeed nothing positive came out of either war, only destruction, horrendous loss of human lives and abject misery – ten million Korean families remain split to this day. With the wisdom of hindsight, NZ should not have participated in either of these wars.
Various articles have been written speculating on the impact of a second Korean War. While the figures vary, all agree that there would be large numbers of fatalities. It has been reported that one U.S. Department of Defense assessment states that a second Korean War could produce 200,000-300,000 South Korean and U.S. military casualties within the first 90 days, in addition to hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths.[2]
A dangerous arms race is currently taking place in N.E. Asia with China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and North Korea all increasing their military arsenals. A second Korean war would inevitably involve China.
President Moon Jae-in (2017-2022) adopted a policy of seeking rapprochement and had three summit meetings with his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un. On each occasion Moon’s approval ratings rocketed up to 80%. In May 2022 Moon narrowly lost the presidency to Yoon Suk-yeol who won by a margin of 0.08%. Yoon, a conservative hawk, has totally abandoned Moon’s rapprochement policy. He has cut off communication lines with the North, expanded joint war games with the USA and is ratcheting up military expenditure. His poll approval ratings have consistently been under 40% – the lowest ratings ever for a South Korean President.
The North Korean public made their desire known when 150,000 of them gave President Moon a prolonged standing ovation after he spoke to them in Pyongyang in 2018.
The South Korean people want peace. The North Korean people want peace.
New Zealand has never committed to “reparticipate” in the Korean war and should not do so now.
The United Nations Command
“Reparticipation” is being requested in the form of commitment to the United Nations Command. The name suggests that this is a United Nations organisation; but it is not, It is an entity controlled by the USA Department of Defense and named to provide a fig leaf of legitimacy over its military ventures in South Korea dating back to 1950.
In 1950 USA-supported Syngman Rhee based in Seoul and Russia-supported Kim Il-sung based in Pyongyang were vying for control of Korea. An anti-Russian and anti-communism hysteria pervaded the USA at the time. Alger Hiss and Julius and Ethel Rosenburg had been arrested accused of spying for Moscow and Senator Joseph McCarthy in the House Un-American Activities Committee was finding ‘a red under every bed’. In Korea it seemed likely that Kim Il-sung would win an election. In the eyes of Washington this looked like a confirmation of the Domino Theory as postulated by President Truman.
It was in this climate that the USA was able to persuade a new and naive United Nations to unwittingly become an instrument of the USA’s foreign policy by passing four Security Council Resolutions which recommended members to support the USA in a fight against Kim Il-sung led North Korea under a ‘Unified Command’ of the USA. [3]
General Douglas MacArthur was appointed ‘Commanding General of the Unified Command’. An ultra-egotist, MacArthur immediately designated himself as ‘Commander in Chief of the United Nations Command’. Thus the so called ‘United Nations Command’ a figment of MacArthur’s imagination, was born and still exists today, 73 years later.
Three United Nations Secretary Generals (Boutros Ghali, Kofi Annan, and Ban Ki-moon) have stated that the UN Command has nothing to do with the United Nations. In June 2013 Ban ki-moon’s spokesperson stated ,“The UN did not at any time have any role in the command of the forces that operated in Korea in 1950-1953.” [4] In December 1975 the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution GA 3390 (XXX) which stated that it: “Considers that it is necessary to dissolve the “United Nations Command” and withdraw all the foreign troops stationed in South Korea.” [5] This has never been acted upon.
Instead of committing to “reparticipate” in war mongering at the behest of an unpopular South Korean President and the Pentagon, New Zealand should work for peace in Korea by:
· Withdrawing the six NZ Defence personnel currently assigned to the ‘United Nations Command’
· Restoring active diplomatic relations with the DPRK (North Korea)
· Supporting the two Koreas to implement the roadmap to peaceful co-existence they have laid out in their four jointly signed summit agreements [6]
· Advocating that the United Nations withdraw permission for the United Nations flag to be used in South Korea by the phony United Nations Command
· Advocating for implementation of the UN General Assembly Resolution 3390 recommending the dissolution of the United Nations Command. 
