This book investigates the history and role of the United Nations Command (UNC), which is important not only for the Korean Peninsula but also for East Asian security. The UNC has played a crucial role in maintaining peace on the Korean Peninsula divided by South and North Korea for the past 70 years. However, little is known about how the U.S. administration has perceived the role of the UNC and what policies it has implemented. It is known that the Nixon, Ford, and Carter administrations tried to dismantle the UNC in the 1970s, but eventually decided to reduce it rather than eliminate it. In this context, this study greatly helps us understand the true importance of the UNC by finding out the decisive reason why the U.S. did not remove it. According to the study, past official documents confirmed that the U.S. has recognized the UNC as the basis for maintaining the regime of the armistice on the Korean Peninsula. Historically, no studies have tracked U.S. policy on the UNC through primary data.
Currently, the U.S. is implementing a policy to revitalize the UNC, which had been reduced, in order to stabilize the East Asian region. Some say that the U.S. is trying to establish a kind of regional security system centered on the UNC. In any case, the study is crucial to understanding the true role of the UNC, which has recently attracted immense attention. Therefore, this book would be intriguing for experts around the world who are interested in the security in the Korean Peninsula.
Author(s): Jeongho Nam
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 134
City: Singapore
Acknowledgements
Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
1 Introduction
2 Theoretical Framework
2.1 Previous Research
2.2 Tentative Explanation
2.3 Regime Theory and Security Regime
2.4 ‘Changes in Regime’ Versus ‘Regime Change’
2.5 The Korean Armistice Agreement as a Security Regime
3 Methodology
3.1 Process Tracing Method
3.2 Analytical Framework
4 The U.S. Policy Toward the Korean Armistice Regime and the UNC 1 (1969–1974)
4.1 Preliminary Review
4.1.1 The Brief History of the UNC
4.1.2 The Korea-U.S. Alliance and the Armistice Regime
4.2 The Cold War and the Stable Armistice Regime (1950–1969)
4.2.1 The UNC and the Security of South Korea
4.2.2 The South Korea-U.S. Alliance Versus the North Korea-China Alliance
4.2.3 The Stable Security Regime
4.3 The Nixon Doctrine and the Dissolution Plan of the UN Command (1969–1974)
4.3.1 The UNC at Stake
4.3.2 The U.S. ‘Changes in Regime’ Policy
4.3.3 North Korea’s ‘Regime Change’ Strategy by Peace Treaty
4.3.4 China’s Change of Stance as an ‘Intermediator’
4.3.5 The Clash Between ‘Changes in Regime’ and ‘Regime Change’
5 The U.S. Policy Toward the Korean Armistice Regime and the UNC 2 (1975–1978)
5.1 Retrial of the Ford Administration
5.1.1 The UN Security Council and the Armistice Regime
5.1.2 The Change of Chinese Position Toward the Armistice Regime
5.1.3 The Halt of Regime Change
5.2 The Trilateral Talk Strategy of the Carter Administration
5.2.1 The Launch of the CFC and the Reduction of the UNC
5.2.2 Conflict Within the Alliance
5.2.3 North Korea’s Failure to Break Down the Armistice Regime
5.2.4 The Failure to Create a New Regime
5.3 The Current Issues of the UNC
5.3.1 ‘Potential Mismatch’ Between the Military Authority and Responsibility of the UNC
5.3.2 End-Of-War Declaration, Peace Treaty, and the Dissolution of the UNC
5.3.3 Revitalization of the UN
5.3.4 A Feasible Solution
6 Conclusion
Agreement Regarding the Status of the United Nations Forces in Japan
Tokyo. February 19, 1954
Article I
Article II
Article III
Article IV
Article V
Article VI
Article VII
Article VIII
Article IX
Article X
Article XI
Article XII
Article XIII
Article XIV
Article XV
Article XVI
Article XVII
Article XVIII
Article XIX
Article XX
Article XXI
Article XXII
Article XXIII
Article XXIV
Article XXV
References
