Ambassador Lee Ho-jin, Vice President of UNA-Korea, Ambassador Park Soo-gil, President of WFUNA, Distinguished members of the UN Association of Korea, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me first convey to you my heartfelt congratulations on the 68th United Nations Day.

It is with special sense of emotion that I stand before you today, on the day that commemorates the noble causes and values that the UN stands for.

I remember those many sleepless nights and days 23 years ago, working tirelessly as Counselor at then Korea’s Observer Mission to the UN, to gain Korea’s entry into the UN; and specifically the day September 17, 1991, when the national flag of the Republic of Korea was first hoisted in front of the UN Headquarters.

At this moment, it is as if the emotions of those days are vividly coming back to me.

And then, just a month ago, I attended the 68th UN General Assembly to deliver a keynote address as the Foreign Minister of Korea’s new government.

Being back in the General Assembly Hall for the first time in 22 years, I was reminded of former Minister Lee Sang-ock’s historic speech before that august hall on the occasion of Korea’s admission to the UN, which I drafted.

After all, it took decades of efforts to move a distance of just a few meters from the observer’s seat to the member’s seat. Since then, 22 years have passed.

Leaving the hall after concluding my keynote address, the faces of former senior colleagues who worked selflessly for that historic task flashed before my eyes.

Among them are Ambassador Park Ssang-yong and Ambassador Park Soo-gil who are here with us today.

As you are aware, Korea’s admission to the UN is the result of the sacrifices, wisdom, and strategic foresights of many people which triumphed over some very unfavorable circumstances.

You, the members of the UN Association of the Republic of Korea (UNA-Korea) were behind all these noble endeavor and the witnesses in that chapter of history.

This year marks the 66th anniversary of UNA-Korea.

Without exaggeration, Korea’s active participation in the UN today would not be possible without the unceasing support from UNA-Korea.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to express my utmost respect and gratitude to all those who have contributed to Korea’s triumphant admission and the subsequent achievements in the UN system.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Last September, I had an absolutely crazy schedule in New York for UNGA.

And as I lived through such a hectic schedule, I could feel firsthand the desire of the international community to see more participation and a greater contribution from Korea.

I could feel the sights of the world set on Korea, expecting to see a greater role undertaken.

In my view, what underlies these expectations is the international community’s trust with regard to Korea’s enhanced capability and role.

Of course, the warm attention and strong support from Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, whose video message we have just seen, are always great encouragement to us.

I would like to convey my sincere appreciation to Secretary General Ban.

During this year’s UNGA, I participated in the Ministerial Meeting of the Security Council, as well as High-level Meeting on Development in addition to delivering the keynote address to the General Assembly.

The message that I intended to convey was clear – the foreign policy of the new government in Korea places high importance on pursuing the “happiness of the global community” beyond that of the Korean Peninsula.

This policy stems from our vision and philosophy that the happiness of our people cannot be attained separately from the happiness of the entire global community.

In the same vein, the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula are inseparable from those of the international community.

From my stand point, such policy vision emanates from the following historical and policy related rationale.

To begin with, the Republic of Korea was founded with help from the UN.

It repelled North Korea’s aggression thanks to the noble sacrifices of the UN forces.

And its remarkable success in the course of national development was made possible with help from the UN and the international community.

Such a close relationship between Korea and the UN has led the foreign policy of successive governments in Korea to always regard Korea’s contribution to the international community as one of its core objectives.

As you know, this year marks the 60th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest tribute to the UN forces who sacrificed their lives fighting for the freedom and democracy of Korea.

My appreciation also goes to all the ‘Blue Helmets’ who, even at this moment, are standing guard in the defense of peace and democracy.

Secondly, as former Secretary General Kofi Annan once likened to the “butterfly effect,” the world as a whole is interconnected in an inseparable way.

Today, multitudes of problems created in the world are increasingly beyond the reach of a single country – thus, an era of globalization.

Global issues require global efforts. Therefore, more than any time in the past, there is a keen interest in a multilateral approach with the UN at the center.

In this time when the paradigm of international politics is gradually shifting from a previously state-focused approach to a citizens-, or people-focused approach, the basis of the Korean foreign policy – the happiness of the global community – is in line and in excellent harmony with the UN’s vision as outlined in “In Larger Freedom.”

Finally, as can be seen with the adoption of a series of Security Council resolutions condemning North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear development, there is a growing expectation that the UN play a pivotal role in the resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue, in securing lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, and ultimately in the reunification of the two Koreas.

Against this background, the Park Geun-hye government came to power, and evidently its policy on global governance, including the UN, was incorporated as one of the three major pillars of Korea’s overall foreign policy – policy towards North Korea and policy towards major partners and regions being the other two.

Having said that, now I would like to turn to the details of the Park Geun-hye government’s policy towards the UN.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Although Korea joined the UN as a late comer, Korea has been an active contributor in various UN activities.

As we speak, “Hanvit” Unit in South Sudan and “Dongmyeong” Unit in Lebanon are diligently carrying out their peacekeeping missions.

In addition, Korea is serving as a member of three major organs of the UN – the Security Council, Human Rights Council and Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

Furthermore, Korea is the 13th largest financial contributor to the UN.

The Park Geun-hye government seeks to enhance cooperation with the UN, by upholding the values of peace and security, human rights, and development cooperation, among other things.

First, Korea will actively participate in the efforts to preserve peace and security in the international community.

In particular, Korea places highest priority on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their means of delivery, as they represent the most serious threats to international peace and security.

Korea condemned the use of chemical weapons in Syria in the strongest possible terms and will actively join the UN and OPCW’s efforts in eliminating the chemical weapons in Syria.

Furthermore, Korea strongly supports the UN and the international community’s efforts to resolve Iranian nuclear issue.

In this vein, the task of stopping North Korea from developing nuclear weapons and dismantling all its nuclear weapons programs are the most immediate challenges faced by Korea and the international community.

North Korea’s insistence on claiming the status of a nuclear weapon state and pursuit of a nuclear weapons program along with economic development despite numerous Security Council resolutions prohibiting it from pursuing such a course of action are a direct challenge to the authority of the UN, which cannot be accepted.

North Korea must realize that it cannot win over the will of the entire international community and must choose the path towards genuine change.

North Korea should reflect on the choice made by the Syrian regime to give up its chemical weapons when faced with resolute decisions of the UN and OPCW, and must make a similar strategic choice.

Second, Korea will make meaningful contributions for the promotion of human rights as universal values of the mankind.

With the end of the Cold War, the instances of inter-state conflict decreased while the instances of intra-state conflict increased.

In Rwanda, the Balkans, and most recently in Syria, humanitarian crises and violations of human rights are continuing.

Issues of humanitarian and human rights concerns are basic responsibilities of the international community that should not be neglected.

Korea attaches particular importance to human rights issues given our situation regarding human rights in North Korea, separated families in the two Koreas, and North Korean asylum seekers abroad.

Furthermore, Korea regards the issue of sexual violence in conflict as one of the most severe forms of human rights violations, calling for the international community to uphold justice regardless of the circumstances in this or the past centuries.

In this regard, Korea is participating in the global efforts to fight against sexual violence as one of the champions of the newly launched Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI).

Third, addressing the challenges of under-development and extreme poverty is another priority of Korea.

Eradicating poverty is at the core of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Although the issue of absolute poverty has been addressed to some degree due to the efforts by many governments around the world, poverty is still the issue that attracts the most attention from the UN.

In this regard, at the 4th High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, Korea adopted the Busan Global Partnership, presenting new possibilities in the field of development aid.

In addition, Korea wishes to contribute to the UN’s newest endeavors under the theme of the Post-2015 Development Agenda by pursuing recipient-oriented development cooperation policy.

Finally, Korea will pro-actively address global challenges that require global responses.

As new problems arise which cannot be addressed by a single state, such as climate change and environment, non-proliferation of WMD, nuclear security and safety, cyber-security, counter-terrorism, natural disasters, and epidemics, Korea will seek to muster global responses to address them.

In this vein, Korea is increasingly taking on an active role in addressing these new global challenges.

Those efforts include the establishment of the GGGI, hosting of the GCF Secretariat, convening of the 2010 G20 Summit, 2013 Seoul Conference on Cyberspace, and 2014 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference.

Using its unique leadership as a bridge between developed and developing countries, Korea will continue to play a meaningful role in shaping international norms and order on these emerging global issues.

As a part of such efforts, on the sidelines of UNGA, Korea launched the first-ever middle-power consultation mechanism – called MIKTA – in partnership with Mexico, Indonesia, Turkey and Australia, supplementing Korea’s multilateral diplomacy at the UN.

Furthermore, at last week’s Seoul Conference on Cyberspace, I, as the chair of the conference annoucned the Seoul framework and commitments, paving the way for full fledged discussion on global rules to govern the cyberspace, the unexplored new world for all mankind.

As you can see, Korea is expanding its diplomatic horizon, dealing with a larger scope of global issues.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

22 years ago, upon its admission to the UN as a full member, Korea solemnly declared that it would fulfill its commitment to respect the responsibilities and duties enshrined in the UN Charter.

Since then, Korea has kept its promise and will shoulder the burden of fulfilling the core values of the UN that the mankind fully enjoys “In Larger Freedom.”

In this noble endeavor, I ask for continuous support and encouragement from the members of UNA-ROK and all those who hold the United Nations dear to their hearts.

Thank you very much.