유엔군사령부의 법적 지위와 존속 및 해체 문제에 관한 소고

The United States has carried out the ‘revitalization’ programme of the United Nations Command (UNC) since 2014. Due to this programme, much attention is paid to the legal status of the UNC and the issue of its survival or dissolution. The UNC was created based on the United Nations Security Council Resolution 84. Until the establishment of the ROK-US Combined Forces Command, the UNC had held the operational control of Korean troops. In spite of the creation of the ROK-US Combined Forces Command, the UNC still retains the responsibility for compliance with and enforcement of the terms and provisions of the 1953 Korean War Armistice Agreement. It is noted, with an in-depth analysis on the United Nations Security Council Resolution 84, that the United States retains its maximum discretion to administer the UNC. That is to say, the UNC has not been controlled by any organ of the United Nations although the “United Nations” is included in the name of the UNC. This leads to the conclusion that the matter of the survival or dissolution of the UNC is within the competence of the United States. Since there are no legally binding documents to prohibit the revitalization programme of the UNC, the Republic of Korea had better conclude an agreement regarding the status of the United Nations forces in Korea. The reason for this is that the Republic of Korea might exert its influence with its pro-UNC policy within the UNC which could survive even after the conclusion of the Peace Treaty on the Korean Peninsula.