President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday welcomed Germany's application to join the United Nations Command (UNC), a U.S.-led multinational command overseeing the armistice of the 1950-53 Korean War. Yoon made the remark during his talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Washington. "(South Korea) welcomes Germany's application for the UNC's membership," Yoon said during the meeting. "We look forward to Germany fulfilling its necessary role as a member of the UNC as soon as the related procedures are completed." Germany's previous attempt to join the UNC was turned down in 2019 under the previous liberal government of President Moon Jae-in amid a reconciliatory mood with North Korea. Pyongyang has long called for dissolving the command. The stance has changed under the conservative Yoon administration, which has sought to expand cooperation with UNC member states to deter North Korea's rising military threat. "Earlier this year, Germ any expressed its desire to rejoin the UNC to both South Korea and the U.S.," a senior presidential official told reporters. "The UNC has reviewed the request and the final review process by the U.S. Department of Defense is under way. We expect the membership to be finalized soon." The 17-member UNC was established in 1950 to enforce the armistice and serve as a headquarters for potential troop contributions by U.N. sending states in the case of a crisis. Germany provided medical assistance to South Korea from 1954-1959 but it was not recognized as a UNC member state because the armistice agreement was signed in July 1953. During the talks, Yoon and Scholz expressed "grave concerns" over North Korea's continued provocations and deepening cooperation with Russia through a sweeping military agreement last month, vowing to expand security cooperation between NATO and South Korea. Source: Yonhap News Agency
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