UN General Assembly
1966

88. The majority of the States Members of the United Nations probably do not always realize that the United Nations is still a belligerent party — subject, of course, to the armistice provisions — in relation to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. In Panmunjom — which I visited last year — I saw the flag of the United Nations on the table of the armistice commission. Representatives of the United States armed forces stationed in South Korea sit behind the United Nations flag on the occasion of negotiations. Almost fourteen years have elapsed since the conclusion of the armistice agreement, and the United Nations is still considered a belligerent party. The United Nations should rid itself of this shame. The past should be closed. An entirely new start should be made. It is already a good sign that we have included in the agenda of this session the item entitled ''Withdrawal of all United States and other foreign forces occupying South Korea under the flag of the United Nations and dissolution of the United Nations Commission for the Unification and Rehabilitation of Korea". If the Member States represented in that Commission could deem it possible to resign from the Commission, it would be beneficial to this Organization. The reunification of Korea should be left to the Korean people who are able to deal with it effectively if foreign interference is stopped. The United Nations should disentangle itself from this shameful heritage of the past.