Neil Briscoe, 'Notes of the Secretary-General's meeting with the Permanent Observer of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to the United Nations'

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Confidential

Notes of the Secretary-General's meeting with the Permanent 0berver of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to the United Nations

Held at Headquarters on 6 August 1991 at 11.00 a.m.

Present:

Ambassador Pak thanked the Secretary-General for receiving him despite his heavy schedule. The Secretary-General assured him that he would always find time to assist in resolving the important problems of the Korean peninsula.

The first point which Ambassador Pak wished to address was the recent steps which his Government had taken regarding the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula; the Foreign Ministry had the previous week issued another statement proposing denuclearization. The commitment of both North and South Korea to this policy required practical measures, including by the "directly-related party, the United States, which must take the necessary actions".

In view of global political developments and the recent agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union to limit strategic nuclear weapons, why was the Korean peninsula being treated as an exception, and why did the US continue to deploy nuclear arms in South Korea? The US-Soviet treaty could provide a real opportunity for the reduction and withdrawal of nuclear weapons from Korea. The Secretary-General was glad that this issue was under consideration.

Ambassador Pak then turned to the question of the admission of North and south Korea to the United Nations. At their previous meeting in June, the Secretary-General had promised his full cooperation, and so far all the arrangements had been perfect. The Ambassador was very grateful to the Secretary-General for facilitating the smooth coordination of the item and requested his continued assistance during the treatment of the issue in the Security Council in the coming days, as well as subsequently in the General Assembly. He hoped that the item regarding the admission would be considered and adopted as soon as possible and without controversy. The Secretary-General replied that he did not expect any difficulties -- indeed, the whole membership of the UN would be only too happy to receive the two countries into the Organization.

Ambassador Pak reported that one proposal, which had been mentioned by Ambassador Pickering but had not yet been officially discussed, was for Presidential draft resolutions to be submitted both to the Security Council and to the General Assembly. Mr. Dayal clarified that the applications might be accepted by consensus in the Council, at the proposal of the President. It had been suggested that the Assembly follow the same procedure, rather than for a specific country or group of countries to introduce the item.

The Secretary-General agreed to convey the Ambassador's views to the new President of the General Assembly, who would, clearly, have to consent to this approach. The Secretary-General undertook in any case to transmit the Ambassador's wish to the current President, who, as an Asian, should be favourably disposed to assisting the admission of four Asian countries to the organization. The secretary-General had been very pleased by the decision of Ambassador Pak' s Government to apply for admission. Double membership of North and South Korea did not preclude eventual unification, and in fact the unification of Germany offered a very clear example of this.

The Ambassador emphasised that he was open to any constructive idea to ensure that the entry of the two Koreas would be handled in a constructive, amicable and efficient manner. He would be contacting General Assembly Affairs to discuss the details of the admission. He felt that the seating arrangements in the General Assembly could conform to the UN's customary designation of the two countries. The Secretary-General confirmed that the Ambassador could rely on his cooperation.

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Neil Briscoe

6 August 1991