(LEAD) Unification minister discusses cooperation with UNC chief

▲ Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho (L) and United Nations Command chief Gen. Paul LaCamera pose for a photo ahead of their meeting at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, on Nov. 20, 2023, in this photo provided by Kim's office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho (L) and United Nations Command chief Gen. Paul LaCamera (R) greet each other ahead of their meeting at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, on Nov. 20, 2023, in this photo provided by Kim's office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) unification minister-UN Command

(LEAD) Unification minister discusses cooperation with UNC chief

(ATTN: ADDS details in paras 3-7, photos)

SEOUL, Nov. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's point man on North Korea met with Gen. Paul LaCamera, chief of the United Nations Command (UNC), on Monday to discuss how to bolster cooperation, the unification ministry said Monday.

The trip to the UNC headquarters by Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho came as Seoul seeks to deepen ties with the U.S.-led multinational command, an enforcer of the Armistice Agreement that halted the 1950-53 Korean War.

During a one-hour meeting at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, Kim thanked the UNC for safeguarding the peace and security of the Korean Peninsula over the past seven decades.

Kim also expressed a willingness to work closely with the UNC and its member states in the process of unification, and suggested ways to expand cooperation with the ministry and the multinational command, such as establishing a regular communications system and resuming visits to the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom.

The tour program for visitors has been suspended since mid-July, after U.S. Army Private Travis King crossed the border into North Korea during a tour at the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas.

LaCamera explained to Kim the UNC's role in safeguarding peace on the Korean Peninsula and echoed the minister's view on the need to expand cooperation among the command, its member states and the unification ministry, the ministry said in a press release.

The U.S. general, who also heads the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command and the U.S. Forces Korea, shared Kim's view on the importance of South Korea's "Audacious Initiative" at a time the North is beefing up its nuclear and missile technologies.

The trip, the first by a unification minister, is in line with the policy of the government of Yoon Suk Yeol that puts importance on the UNC, ministry spokesperson Koo Byoung-sam said in a regular press briefing.

"The meeting will serve as an opportunity to reaffirm the UNC's importance and value regarding the security situation of South Korea and bolster cooperative ties," Koo said of Kim's visit.

Yoon praised the UNC's contribution to overseeing the armistice, and promoting peace and stability on the peninsula during a recent meeting in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice.

During the previous liberal government, Seoul's relationship with the multinational command had faced frictions over access to the Demilitarized Zone for nonmilitary purposes, such as a joint field survey of a cross-border railway by the two Koreas in 2018.

The UNC has jurisdiction over the area that separates the two Koreas.

As part of efforts to strengthen ties with the UNC, the unification ministry plans to host a policy briefing Tuesday for ambassadors of countries that either sent troops or medical personnel to South Korea during the Korean War.

The current UNC member states are the United States, Britain, Canada, Turkey, Australia, the Philippines, Thailand, the Netherlands, Colombia, Greece, New Zealand, Belgium, France, South Africa, Norway, Denmark and Italy.

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