NK calls for dissolution of United Nations Command

North Korea’s foreign ministry renewed its call for the dissolution of the United Nations Command (UNC) Monday, saying that the cease-fire agreement that concluded the 1950-1953 Korean War needs to be replaced by a peace treaty.

According to the North Korean Central News Agency, the ministry said, in its “diplomatic note,” that an unstable truce has continued for 60 years after the armistice was signed.

“The UNC is behind the United States which has kept the cease-fire condition going and ignored Pyongyang’s consistent attempts to change the armistice to a permanent peace treaty,” the ministry said, describing the UNC as a relic of the Cold War.

The ministry argued that the immediate dissolution of the UNC will be a key factor determining whether or not the U.S. will maintain its hostility toward Pyongyang.

“Also, it will be a decisive factor to show if Washington wants to see Asian and Pacific region’s peace and stability or it seeks to resurrect the Cold War era,” the ministry said.

It added that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), will strengthen its attempts to deter any form of aggression until the U.S. makes the right decision.

In particular, it claimed that the U.S. is preparing to expand the UNC’s tactical boundaries to the Asia-Pacific area and is intending to use the multinational military command as a tool to invade the region.

Such arguments are in line with the North’s earlier remarks at the United Nations general assembly in October. At the time, it said, “The UNC is being used by the U.S. for its hostile policies against the North.”

In July 1950, the UNC was established by a U.N. Security Council Resolution calling for a joint command structure to repulse the North that invaded the South and it has since been in place.

In the meantime, the North has been stepping up efforts to highlight various economic achievements since its leader Kim Jong-un underlined the need for a strong economy.

The Korean Central Broadcasting Station, North Korea’s state-controlled radio station, claimed that there have been revolutionary changes in the production of iron ore through the cooperation of workers.

Such cooperation will likely raise the daily production by 120 percent at a mine in Musan, it said. Musan in South Hamgyeong Province, is home to one of the largest iron ore deposits in the communist country and has attracted investment from China.

Another media outlet, Radio Pyongyang, reported on the success made by a construction cooperative in North Pyeongan Province and a tidal flat reclamation project underway along the West Sea coast. <The Korea Times/Jun Ji-hye>