President Yoon Suk Yeol (right) shakes hands with US Forces Korea Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera (fourth from left), who also serves as the commander of the United Nations Command, at a meeting with UNC officials held at the presidential office in central Seoul on Thursday. (Yonhap)
President Yoon Suk Yeol met with key officials of the United Nations Command on Thursday and vowed South Korea will not be fooled by pro-North Korean forces calling for the disbandment of the UNC to achieve "false peace."
"The U.N. Command protected the free Republic of Korea when the country was in crisis, hanging by a thread, and is continuing to play a pivotal role in maintaining peace on the Korean Peninsula even after 70 years," Yoon said in a meeting with UNC officials at his office in Seoul, referring to South Korea by its official name.
The meeting was attended by US Forces Korea Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera, Lieutenant General Andrew Harrison, the deputy commander of the UNC, and other UNC officials, as well as National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong and Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo.
"North Korea still thinks the UNC is the biggest barrier to unifying the Korean Peninsula under communism," Yoon said, citing the UNC's power as the reason pro-North forces call for the UNC's dismantlement in exchange for the end-of-war declaration.
The UNC was established after the Korean War broke out in July 1950 and has been working to secure peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Yoon has slammed the previous Moon Jae-in administration's push for a joint declaration of the end of the Korean War with Pyongyang as an effort to break up the UNC.
"But the wise South Korean people will not be deceived by their claims for 'false peace,'" he said.
Yoon said the country should "achieve peace through overwhelming and strong power" so North Korea can voluntarily give up its nuclear power.
"The power of force is the only way to guarantee true peace, not the false peace that relies on another's good will," Yoon said.
In the meeting, Yoon also reaffirmed Seoul's commitment to the alliance among UNC members and the South Korea-US alliance. (Yonhap)
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