The United Nations Command and the Sending States (Korea)

COL Creamer has done a great service for all who study Korea.  This is the best modern treatment of the United Nations Command, its history and evolution.  This will be a much cited article by Korean scholars who write on the military and security situation on the Korean peninsula.

The PDF of the full paper can be downloaded here: 

http://icks.org/n/data/ijks/2017FW-4.pdf

This is an excellent companion to COL Creamer's previous work describing the entire Korean Theater command structure which is arguably the most authoritative description of command relations in Korea.  That essay can be downloaded at this link: http://icks.org/n/data/ijks/1498534150_add_file_3.pdf

The United Nations Command and the Sending States 

Colonel Shawn P. Creamer, U.S. Army 

Abstract The United Nations Command is the oldest and most distinguished of the four theater-level commands in the Republic of Korea. Authorized by the nascent United Nations Security Council, established by the United States Government, and initially commanded by General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, the United Nations Command had over 930,000 servicemen and women at the time the Armistice Agreement was signed. Sixteen UN member states sent combat forces and five provided humanitarian assistance to support the Republic of Korea in repelling North Korea’s attack. Over time, other commands and organizations assumed responsibilities from the United Nations Command, to include the defense of the Republic of Korea. The North Korean government has frequently demanded the command’s dissolution, and many within the United Nations question whether the command is a relic of the Cold War. This paper examines the United Nations Command, reviewing the establishment of the command and its subordinate organizations. The next section describes the changes that occurred as a result of the establishment of the Combined Forces Command in 1978, as well as the implications of removing South Korean troops from the United Nations Command’s operational control in 1994. The paper concludes with an overview of recent efforts to revitalize the United Nations Command, with a focus on the command’s relationship with the Sending States. 

Keywords: United States, Republic of Korea, United Nations, Security Council, Sending States, United Nations Command, Military Armistice Commission, United Nations Command-Rear, U.S. Forces Korea, Combined Forces Command, Republic of Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff, Canadian Forces Initiative, revitalization