United Nations Command (Korea)
Encyclopedia
The United Nations Command (Korea) (UNC) is the unified command structure for the multinational military forces supporting the Republic of Korea (South Korea or ROK) during and after the Korean War
. After troops of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea or DPRK) invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950, the United Nations Security Council
adopted Resolution 82
calling on North Korea to cease hostilities and withdraw to the 38th parallel
. On June 27, 1950, it adopted Resolution 83
, recommending that members of the United Nations provide assistance to the Republic of Korea "to repel the armed attack and to restore international peace and security to the area". Security Council Resolution 84
, adopted on July 7, 1950, recommended that members providing military forces and other assistance to South Korea "make such forces and other assistance available to a unified command under the United States of America".
On August 29, 1950, the British Commonwealth's 27th Infantry Brigade
arrived at Busan to join the UNC, which until then included only ROK and U.S. forces. The 27th Brigade moved into the Naktong River line west of Daegu.
Troop units from other countries of the UN followed in rapid succession; Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Thailand and Turkey. The Union of South Africa provided air units which fought alongside the air forces of other member nations. Denmark, India, Norway, and Sweden provided medical units. Italy provided a hospital, even though it was not a UN member.
The United Nations Command and the Chinese-North Korean Command signed the Korean Armistice Agreement on 27 July 1953, ending the heavy fighting. The armistice agreement established the Military Armistice Commission (MAC), consisting of representatives of the two signatories, to supervise the implementation of the armistice terms. The North Korean-Chinese MAC has been replaced by Panmumjon Representatives under exclusive North Korean management.
Regular meetings have been stopped, although duty officers of Joint Security Area
, commonly known as the Truce Village of Panmunjom, from each side meet regularly.
Under the law, the Commander, US Forces Korea, is dual-hatted as Commander of the ROK-US CFC. The Deputy Commander is a 4-star general from the ROK Army
, who is also dual-hatted as the ground forces component commander.
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. After troops of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea or DPRK) invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950, the United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
adopted Resolution 82
United Nations Security Council Resolution 82
United Nations Security Council Resolution 82 was a measure adopted by the United Nations Security Council on June 25, 1950. The resolution demanded North Korea immediately end its invasion of South Korea, the catalyst for the beginning of the Korean War...
calling on North Korea to cease hostilities and withdraw to the 38th parallel
38th parallel north
The 38th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 38 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean...
. On June 27, 1950, it adopted Resolution 83
United Nations Security Council Resolution 83
United Nations Security Council Resolution 83, adopted on June 27, 1950, determined that the attack on the Republic of Korea by forces from North Korea constituted a breach of the peace. The Council called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and for the authorities in North Korea to withdraw...
, recommending that members of the United Nations provide assistance to the Republic of Korea "to repel the armed attack and to restore international peace and security to the area". Security Council Resolution 84
United Nations Security Council Resolution 84
The United Nations Security Council Resolution 84 was adopted on July 7, 1950. Having determined that the attack on the Republic of Korea by the forces from North Korea constituted a breach of the peace, the Council recommended that the members of the United Nations furnish such assistance to the...
, adopted on July 7, 1950, recommended that members providing military forces and other assistance to South Korea "make such forces and other assistance available to a unified command under the United States of America".
On August 29, 1950, the British Commonwealth's 27th Infantry Brigade
27th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)
The 27th Infantry Brigade was a British Army brigade during the Second World War and Korean War. In Korea, the brigade was known as 27th British Commonwealth Brigade due to the addition of Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and Indian units....
arrived at Busan to join the UNC, which until then included only ROK and U.S. forces. The 27th Brigade moved into the Naktong River line west of Daegu.
Troop units from other countries of the UN followed in rapid succession; Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Thailand and Turkey. The Union of South Africa provided air units which fought alongside the air forces of other member nations. Denmark, India, Norway, and Sweden provided medical units. Italy provided a hospital, even though it was not a UN member.
The United Nations Command and the Chinese-North Korean Command signed the Korean Armistice Agreement on 27 July 1953, ending the heavy fighting. The armistice agreement established the Military Armistice Commission (MAC), consisting of representatives of the two signatories, to supervise the implementation of the armistice terms. The North Korean-Chinese MAC has been replaced by Panmumjon Representatives under exclusive North Korean management.
Regular meetings have been stopped, although duty officers of Joint Security Area
Joint Security Area
The Joint Security Area is the only portion of the Korean Demilitarized Zone where South and North Korean forces stand face-to-face. It is often called the "Truce Village" in both the media and various military accounts...
, commonly known as the Truce Village of Panmunjom, from each side meet regularly.
1950–1953
During the three years of the Korean War, military forces of these nations were allied as members of the UNC. Peak strength for the UNC was 932,964 on July 27, 1953, the day the Armistice Agreement was signed:- Combat Forces
- Republic of Korea (South Korea) - 590,911
- United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- 302,483 - United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
- 14,198 - PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
- 7,496 - CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
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- 2,282 - New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
- 1,385 - EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
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- 44
- Humanitarian Aid (not counted in total above)
- DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
(the hospital ship JutlandiaJutlandiaMS Jutlandia was contracted by and built for the East Asiatic Company in 1934, as a combined passenger and cargo ship at EAC's Nakskov Shipyard, Denmark...
) - 600 - IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
- ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(Ospedale da Campo n° 68) - NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
(NORMASHNORMASHNorwegian Mobile Army Surgical Hospital was the Norwegian field hospital in Korea from 1951 to 1954, participating in the United Nations Command operations in Korea.-History:...
) - SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
- Denmark
1953 onwards
In the confusion of the early days of the Korean War, Seoul placed its armed forces under the command of General Douglas MacArthur as United Nations (UN) commander. This arrangement continued after the armistice. For some twenty-five years, the United Nations Command headquarters, which had no South Korean officers in it, was responsible for the defense of South Korea, with operational control over a majority of the units in the South Korean military. The command was the primary peacetime planning organization for allied response to a North Korean invasion of South Korea and the principal wartime command organization for all South Korean and United States forces involved in defending South Korea. In 1978 a binational headquarters, the Republic of Korea - United States Combined Forces Command (CFC), was created, and the South Korean military units with front-line missions were transferred from the UN Command to the CFC's operational control. The commander in chief of the CFC, a United States military officer, answered ultimately to the national command authorities of the United States and the Republic of Korea.Under the law, the Commander, US Forces Korea, is dual-hatted as Commander of the ROK-US CFC. The Deputy Commander is a 4-star general from the ROK Army
Republic of Korea Army
The Republic of Korea Army is the largest of the military branches of the South Korean armed forces with 520,000 members as of 2010...
, who is also dual-hatted as the ground forces component commander.
See also
- List of Korea-related topics
- Military of South KoreaMilitary of South KoreaThe Republic of Korea Armed Forces or ROK Armed Forces, is the armed forces of the Republic of Korea...
- United States Forces KoreaUnited States Forces KoreaUnited States Forces Korea refers to the ground, air and naval divisions of the United States armed forces stationed in South Korea....