Tag: United Nations Command

I am in agreement with Lt. Gen. Winter that the rules that govern the DMZ should not be tampered with for no good reason:

The deputy commander of the U.N. Command (UNC) has stressed the need for prudence in any changes regarding the control and use of the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, calling the armistice a “proven framework.”

Lt. Gen. Scott Winter made the remarks as the U.S.-led UNC has objected to bills seeking to promote the peaceful use of the military buffer zone, citing safety and the need to adhere to the armistice agreement.

Currently, the UNC administers the DMZ as the southern enforcer of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.

“What I would say is that when you’ve got a proven framework that works so well, I’d be very wary of doing anything that could change what is already working extremely well,” Winter said in an exclusive interview with Yonhap News Agency on Thursday.

“We need to be very wary about anything that undermines the integrity of a system of management and de-escalation that has worked so well for such a long period of time,” he said, when asked about a report on Seoul’s defense ministry suggesting to the UNC managing parts of the southern half of the DMZ, without directly commenting on the proposal.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The Joong Ang Ilbo has an article that takes an indepth look at the UNC’s rear bases in Japan and what their functions are:

The recent visit to the United Nations Command (UNC) rear base in Japan represents a continuation of the Korea Peace Foundation’s ongoing quest for peace in Northeast Asia since its establishment in 2015.   
  
Established in 1950 in the aftermath of the 1950-1953 Korean War, the UNC has been instrumental in preventing further conflict and upholding peace on the peninsula by maintaining the armistice and deterring North Korean aggression. 
  
The UNC extended its presence to Japan to uphold these objectives.   
  
The Peace Odyssey’s trip marked the first time the UNC granted foreign civilians access to its rear bases in Japan since the Covid-19 pandemic.   
  
There are seven UNC rear bases in Japan. The Peace Odyssey visited two — the Yokosuka Naval Base and the Yokota Air Base.   
  
While the UNC has made most base facilities accessible, a few remain off-limits. Amid the rapidly evolving international landscape characterized by increased cooperation between North Korea, China, and Russia, the UNC sought to provide accurate information about its role.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read the rest at the link, but as the article mentions the UNC rear bases in Japan serves a lot like what Kuwait has served for operations in the Middle East. Japan’s bases would be a critical logistics hub for bringing in material and troops to support any contingency on the Korean peninsula.

It looks like someone was trying to be too clever on Facebook:

The U.N. Command is reviewing its social media policies after a short, sexually suggestive post was published recently on the organization’s official Facebook page.

The post — “Make love to me …” — appeared around midnight March 24. By mid-morning the message had disappeared.

The post “was made unrelated to the mission and goals of our command,” Army Col. Isaac Taylor, who also serves as spokesman for U.S. Forces Korea, said in a statement emailed to Stars and Stripes on Wednesday.

“We are reviewing and updating our current practices and security protocols to ensure it does not happen again,” he wrote. 

Taylor’s email did not answer questions about who was responsible for the post and whether any disciplinary actions were taken. Speaking by phone Monday, he said the investigation into the incident is ongoing. 

The U.N. Command’s Facebook account has around 13,000 followers and posts news and information about its activities and history. (…..)

The message was posted on Facebook as U.S. and South Korean troops carried out the large-scale Ssangyong maritime exercise in South Korea between March 20 and April 3. The allies also conducted large, joint training that included live-fire artillery drills and tabletop simulations throughout March.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.