United Nations Security Council Chair: Sofie Jones ’18 Rapporteur: Vedika Sharma ’20

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Dear Delegates,

Welcome to the Security Council at CAMUN 2018! My name is Sofie Jones and I will be your chair for this committee. I am a senior at Concord Academy from Belmont, MA and this is my fourth year on the CAMUN staff. We will also have the fantastic Vedika Sharma, a sophomore at CA, as our Rapporteur.

Both Vedika and I are excited to welcome you to this committee, which promises to yield a fast-paced and interesting day of debate and diplomacy. Our topic will be the disarmament of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The diplomatic relations between North Korea and other countries is a pressing issue on the international stage at the moment, as many countries consider how to best protect themselves from potential nuclear threats.

We have chosen this topic because we believe it will give you all an opportunity to implement creative solutions to a multifaceted problem. The situation with the DPRK is one that even the world’s top diplomats have struggled to solve. Needless to say, it will require cooperation between each of you in the committee to keep all countries safe from nuclear attack. Because there are new developments in this topic every day, we ask that you stay up-to-date with news updates regarding North Korea.

This committee will run using standard UNSC procedure, in which you will be working towards passing resolutions. There will also be crisis events, to simulate the fast-paced and ever-changing nature of the Security Council, and crisis notes will be permitted. Please be aware of the special powers the Security Council holds, described below, in order to act most efficiently in committee.

If you have any questions before the conference, please do not hesitate to reach out. We are happy to answer any questions about the conference or topic. Also, in order to help debate be as productive as possible, all delegates should email us a researched position paper prior to the conference. If you would like feedback on yours, please submit it earlier.

We look forward to meeting you all soon,

Sofie Jones ’18, Chair, s​ [email protected] Vedika Sharma ’20, Rapporteur, v​ [email protected]

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Role of the Security Council

As established in the United Nations charter, the Security Council is one of the UN’s six primary organs. As outlined in the UN’s founding document, the committee has four main objectives: (1) to ensure security and peace internationally, (2) to maintain relations between countries, (3) to solve international conflicts and protect human rights, and (4) to create​ harmony among the actions of member nations.​ 1 Since its first meeting in 1946, the Security Council has worked to uphold this mission while appeasing all countries represented. The committee has fifteen representatives at any given time, five of whom are permanent and ten who rotate. The five permanent members, with the power to veto any decision, are the United States, United Kingdom, France, China, and the Russian Federation. The ten rotating members currently are: Bolivia, Cote D'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, and Sweden. Non-permanent members are elected by the General Assembly and serve two-year terms.

History of North Korea

Beginning in 1910, after the end of the Russo-Japanese War, Japan held control of the Korean peninsula. During Japanese occupation, from 1910 to 1945, there was significant oppression of Korean culture and traditions. Human rights offenses perpetrated by the Japanese military were also reported. Following the end of World War II in 1945, and the surrender of Japan, the territory of Korea was divided in two along the 38th parallel by American officials.2 The northern part, now known as the DPRK, was controlled by the Soviet Union while the United States held power in the southern portion, the Republic of Korea (ROK).

After the creation of the northern state, soviet leaders appointed Kim Il-Sung as the chairman of the Provisional People’s Committee for North Korea. North Korean political leaders immediately clashed with those in the South, as the two ideologically opposed countries formed. In the last years of the 1940s, Kim garnered soviet support in his aim to overtake the ROK and unite the Korean peninsula. In June of 1950, 75,000 North Korean soldiers invaded South Korea, travelling across the 38th parallel. This quickly spurred involvement from anti-communist forces in the United Nations and countries such as the United States, which helped to push back North Korean forces. However, upon the involvement of Chinese troops, South Korean and allied troops were held at the 38th parallel.

1http://www.un.org/en/sc/about/ 2http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-pacific-36261792/division-between-north-korea-and-south-korea -explained

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Source: ​https://www.tes.com/lessons/Fi4PiwcaC7Owmg/korean-war-red

After three years of bloody war, an armistice was reached on July 27th, 1953 that re-established the boundary between countries. The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) was also created to serve as a buffer along the border.

However, the end of the war did not bring ultimate peace to the peninsula. There remained tension between North and South Korea, as their economies grew in seperate directions. South Korea’s economy was governed by western capitalism, while North Korea was a communist nation with sino-soviet alliances.

Several skirmishes occurred between the two countries through the end of the twentieth century, such as the Korean DMZ conflict of October 1966. North Korean officials also attempted to murder ROK President Park Chung-Hee several times and successfully murdered his wife.

Kim Il-Sung was the leader of North Korea until his death in 1994, and in 1997, after a three year mourning period, he was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong-Il. Under Kim Jong-Il’s leadership, North Korea suffered a massive famine from 1994-98 in which an estimated one to three million people died from starvation.3

Following Kim Jong-Il’s 2011 death, his youngest son, Kim Jong-Un, was appointed the chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

3 https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/12/how-kim-jong-il-starved-north-korea/250244/

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Under Kim Jong-Un’s leadership, North Korea has remained an isolated and brutal country. Kim is suspected to be behind the murder of several of his own family members and has further committed the country to its pursuit of nuclear weapons.4

North Korean Nuclear Program

The creation of North Korea’s nuclear program, many believe, stemmed from this attitude of militarization. In the sixties, North Korea adopted an approach called “a​ ll-fortressization,” which essentially centers around nationalistic and militaristic sanctity and security of the state. This was also around the time that North Korea requested Soviet help in fostering a peaceful nuclear program. With their help, nuclear progress continued into the 1980s in North Korea, when the program shifted towards producing weapons. The decade held many technological advancements for the country, including the building of a 50WM(e) reactor in Yongbyon. North Korea also progressed in its use of light water reactor (LWR) mechanisms, eventually agreeing to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in exchange for Soviet help in improving their LWR capacities .5

In 1994, North Korea signed an agreement with the United States to stop the use of their graphite-moderated and old reactors. In return, North Korea is promised aid to built new LWR technology. However, in 2002, US president George W. Bush announces that North Korea has been operating a secret nuclear weapons program, in violation with the 1994 agreement.6

By 2003, North Korea rescinded its membership of the NPT and declared to the world that it did, in fact, have possession of nuclear weapons. Although the DPRK briefly promised to suspend nuclear development in return for western energy aid, it tested its long range missiles in 2006. This prompted the UN Security Council to pass a resolution demanding that North Korea stop its nuclear program. Upon the announcement of the DPRK’s successful test later that year, the UNSC voted unanimously to implement a wide array of trade and travel sanctions.

Following UN action, North Korea, in 2007, agreed to suspend nuclear activity for an aid package of $400 million. However, the DPRK did not dismantle its weapons by the end of the year, missing the agreed upon deadline.

In 2009, North Korea announced that it had conducted a second test of its nuclear weapons and was again denounced by the United Nations. A second set of sanctions was imposed to deter North Korea from continuing with its nuclear program. Negotiations about the DPRK’s nuclear weapons

4 http://time.com/4681304/north-korea-kim-family-album/ 5 http://www.nti.org/learn/countries/north-korea/nuclear/ 6 https://www.cnn.com/2013/10/29/world/asia/north-korea-nuclear-timeline---fast-facts/index.html

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continued that year, but to no avail. Since 2012, North Korea has affirmed that an attack using nuclear arms could be carried out at any time. In 2014, North Korean media sources announced that they were also now in possession of a hydrogen bomb.

Current Situation

The past year has brought further escalation of the DPRK’s nuclear program. On New Year’s Day of 2017, Kim Jong-Un announced that North Korea would soon test an intercontinental ballistic missile and, by July, state officials reported that the test was successful. September 2017 brought the DPRK’s sixth weapon test, which was a hydrogen bomb possibly mounted on a ballistic missile. According to experts, the bomb was eight times stronger than the one used in the Hiroshima attack of 1945.7 After the test, the UNSC imposed the strictest sanctions yet on North Korea, placing trade bans in hopes of creating economic pressure on Kim and other government leaders.

Other countries have become increasingly worried about the threat of a nuclear attack orchestrated by North Korea, as it is now thought that the country’s reach is about 8,000 miles. This is a majority of the globe and includes the United States mainland.8

The role of this committee now is to deescalate the situation in North Korea and abroad, and to ensure the security of all nations. Countries must work collaboratively to solve this difficult and complex issue. Although North Korea’s nuclear threats have proven to be difficult territory for even the most experienced of diplomats, the UNSC has the power to protect member states and to ensure global peace.

Questions to Consider

1. What role do nations once allied with North Korea play in the current crisis?

2. Should the UN and other countries reach out to North Korea diplomatically? What steps must be taken to achieve that?

3. Are there ways to ensure long term global safety with the threat of a North Korean attack? How might this conflict be de-escalated?

7 https://www.cnn.com/2013/10/29/world/asia/north-korea-nuclear-timeline---fast-facts/index.html 8https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/02/07/world/asia/north-korea-missile-proliferation-range-interc ontinental-iran-pakistan-india.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FNorth%20Korea%27s%20Nuclear% 20Program

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4. Are sanctions against North Korea having any effect or are they just creating hardship for the citizens of North Korea?

5. North Korea has claimed that nuclear weapons are a means of defense against other world powers. Is this a legitimate reason for them to hold on to these weapons of mass destruction?

6. Many countries in the UNSC also have access to nuclear weapons. How can these countries act on North Korea while acknowledging their own nuclear arsenal?

Sources

1. http://www.un.org/en/sc/ ​ (Official history and policy of the UNSC) 2. http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/un-documents/dprk-north-korea/ 3. https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-08-20/brief-history-border-conflict-between-north-and-so uth-korea 4. http://time.com/4681304/north-korea-kim-family-album/ 5. http://www.nti.org/learn/countries/north-korea/ 6. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/02/07/world/asia/north-korea-missile-proliferati on-range-intercontinental-iran-pakistan-india.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FNorth% 20Korea%27s%20Nuclear%20Program 7. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-know-about-sanctions-north-korea 8. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/north-koreas-military-capabilities 9. http://www.korea-dpr.com/​ (The DPRK’s website- take a look at this to understand their perspective)

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