North Korea Demands “Dismantling of The United Nations Command in the Korean Peninsula”

North Korea sent a letter to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan demanding the dismantling of the The United Nations Command (UNC) in the Korean Peninsula, and claimed that the hostile policy of the U.S. against North Korea will cause an inevitable war.

The L.A. Times reported on July 28 that North Korea sent a letter with the above contents under the name of Lieutenant General Lee Chan-bok, representative of the Panmunjom Representative office, on July 22.

However, U.N. Spokesperson Hark stated, “Although we are aware of the letter, we do not consider it officially accepted.”

Spokesman Hark stated, “The UNC in Korea is a military force led by the U.S. military and not a peace-keeping force of the United Nations,” and added, “Therefore, North Korea’s demand is for the U.S. military to withdraw from the Korean Peninsula.”

The letter, addressed under the name of the North Korean Representative Lee Chan-bok, was reported through the North Korean government-controlled Korea Central News Agency on July 27, the 51st anniversary of the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War and also the day when 227 North Korean defectors entered Korea through a third country in Southeast Asia.