“Diplomacy War” Between South Korea and Japan Expected in UN General Assembly In June

It was reported on Wednesday that Japan will submit an “Enlargement of permanent members” resolution to the UN General Assembly in June to pave its way towards becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

In response, the South Korean government is looking for ways to stop the resolution from passing, which is likely to spark more conflict between South Korea and Japan, which are already struggling with the distortion of history and Dokdo issues.

The resolution for the revision of the UN Security Council will pass if it obtains more than 2/3 (128 nations) votes from UN member nations (191 nations). Therefore, in order to thwart the resolution from passing, South Korea has to gather more than a total of 64 votes (1/3 of members) of abstentions or dissenting votes.

“A Great UN War” between South Korea and Japan-

The resolution is the second strategic step for Japan to become a permanent member of the Security Council. After laying the foundation for membership through the passage of the “Enlargement of permanent members” resolution in June, Japan will carry out its plan of becoming a permanent member through the revision of the UN Constitution in November or December.

The Japanese government thinks that it will be able to gather the support from the G4 (Japan, Germany, India, and Brazil) nations hoping to become permanent members as well if it does not elucidate the candidate nations for permanent members in the resolution.

China, which dislikes Japan but is friendly towards India and Brazil, will have a hard time rejecting the resolution.

It has been reported that the South Korean government is planning to counter the resolution by carrying out a “blank vote” strategy against the neutral nations, joining hands with “Coffee Club” nations (about 40~50 nations) that oppose with the expansion plan.

A South Korean government official said, “There will be an unofficial meeting among the 70 nations, including the Coffee Club member nations, next month in New York. The methods to thwart Japan’s resolution will be discussed at the meeting.”

The Coffee Club nations have persistently argued that “if there is an increase in the number of permanent members in the UN Security Council, the core nations will be reduced to periphery nations in the UN.”

The mountain Japan should climb-

South Korean government authorities say that even if Japan somehow succeeds with the passage of the resolution in June, Japan will still face hardships on the way to becoming a permanent member in the UN Security Council.

First of all, there is little possibility that the issue of adding six additional permanent members will be finished within this year. In Africa, where two seats are opened, Egypt has also jumped into the fight ring along with South Africa and Nigeria, further complicating the picture as Kenya and Libya have raised their objections.

In order for Japan to become a permanent member, the UN Constitution needs to be revised, requiring more than 2/3 members approval and a domestic ratification. In particular, it also needs the ratification from all five original permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Hyong-gwon Pu Young-Sik Kim bookum90@donga.com spear@donga.com