Explained | United Nations Command

• Germany joined the US-led United Nations Command (UNC) in South Korea, becoming the 18th nation in the group.

• The UNC helps police the heavily fortified North Korea-South Korea border with and has committed to defend the South in the event of a war.

• Germany is the first country to join the command since Italy was reinstated in 2013.

• It is the latest move by the US and its partners to expand alliances and partnerships, and try to turn the 74-year-old command into a source of broader regional security.

• Germany wasn’t a member of the United Nations in 1953 but did offer to deploy a field hospital to support UN soldiers two months before the armistice signing. The hospital became fully operational in 1954 and provided support until 1959.

• From 1954 to 1959, the German medical support unit, consisting of 117 doctors, nurses, and technicians, operated as the West German Red Cross Hospital in Busan, treating almost 300,000 patients and assisting with over 6,000 births. 

• South Korea recognised Germany as a ‘Medical Support Nation’ in 2018, for this support.

United Nations Command and DMZ

• Following the invasion of North Korea in South Korea in 1950, the UN called on countries to unite and assist South Korea. 

• The UN Security Council named the US as executive agent to implement the resolution and direct UN military operations in Korea.

• US President Harry S. Truman ordered Douglas MacArthur, Commander-in-Chief, Far East Command, to provide whatever assistance was needed to repel this invasion. General MacArthur committed US air and naval forces and on July 24, 1950 in Tokyo, established General Headquarters, United Nations Command.

• Troop units from other countries of the UN also arrived. During the three years of the Korean War, military forces of these nations fought together as members of the UNC.

• China and the Soviet Union backed the North in combat against the South. 

• India provided medical support to the Korean War effort.

• On July 27, 1953, the fighting ended. An armistice was signed at Panmunjom which provided for the end of the fighting and eventual political settlement of the war. 

• China and North Korea are parties to the armistice with the UNC.

• The shooting ended, but the troops remained, each side pulling back 2,000 meters from the last line of military contact to insure peace, to watch the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), and to guard against any resumption of hostilities.

• The DMZ, which was established as a buffer at the end of the Korean War, is a de facto border separating North and South Korea. It is officially jointly overseen by North Korea and the UN Command.

• The DMZ is the world’s most heavily fortified border.

• Two million mines, barbed wire fences, tank traps and thousands of troops from both countries guard the area of nearly 248 kilometers long and 4 kilometers wide.

The role of UNC now

• UNC is a multinational military organisation with a mandate to maintain peace and security in DMZ. 

• UNC personnel operate across the DMZ, throughout South Korea, and in Japan.

• It is led by the commander of the US military stationed in South Korea.

Its responsibilities include: 

• Enforce the armistice agreement and maintain its integrity.

• Strengthen efforts to restore peace and security on the Korean Peninsula.

• Build multilateral relationships with allies and partners.

• Maintain communication with North Korea.

• Support the functions of the Military Armistice Commission and Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission.

• Maintain access to basing options in times of conflict.

• Support South Korea in the coordination of UNC Member State contributions during armistice, crisis and conflict.

UNC does not come under the UN

• The UNC does not fall under the command and control of UN headquarters in New York or any of its subordinate organisations. However, the UN Security Council has authorised the UNC to use the United Nations flag in the course of its operations. This is the source of its motto: “Under One Flag”.

• North Korea has called the UNC “a US tool for confrontation” that has nothing to do with the United Nations and an “illegal war organisation” that must be dissolved if the outbreak of a new war on the Korean peninsula is to be prevented.

Current members of the UNC:

• United States

• United Kingdom

• Australia

• Netherlands

• Canada

• France

• New Zealand

• Philippines

• Turkey

• Thailand

• South Africa

• Greece

• Belgium

• Colombia

• Denmark

• Norway

• Italy

• Germany.