Korea`s U.N. arrears may affect influence

Korea`s arrears to United Nations organizations are reaching a critical level and could undermine the nation`s influence at the world body, including reform of the Security Council, government officials said.

The total arrears to various U.N. organizations, including for peacekeeping operations, will reach up to $100 million this year, an amount which government officials say may be too high for the nation to handle easily.

"The amount of arrearage, added to Korea`s relatively weak participation in the various PKO (peacekeeping) projects and meager voluntary contributions, could put Korea at a disadvantage in pushing for an expansion of the non-permanent seats in the U.N. Security Council, as well as its bid to enter the council in 2007," a high-ranking government official told The Korea Herald on condition of anonymity.

Korea opposes one of the United Nations` plans, which has garnered much support elsewhere, to expand the number of permanent seats in the Security Council. It prefers more non-permanent seats.

Countries such as Germany and Japan support expansion of the Council`s permanent members from its current level of five - the United States, Russia, Britain and France. They both want to be permanent members of the policymaking U.N. body.

With tensions running high between this country and Japan over renewed Japanese claims to the Korean-controlled Dokdo islands and "distortions" in new textbooks, public calls for Korea`s full-fledged opposition to a permanent Japanese seat on the Council is gaining momentum.

The United Nations is set to launch wide-ranging reform of the Security Council from this September, while Korea is bidding for a non-permanent seat for 2007-2008.

But Korean influence could be affected if the U.N. arrears problem is not sorted out.

So far, the government has failed to pay up to $70 million owed to U.N. peacekeeping operations, one of the two budget allocations to each member country.

Assessed payments - divided into regular and peacekeeping budgets - are made against every member country, which can also choose to make additional voluntary payments.

If nation`s arrears exceeds two years of budget dues, voting rights can be suspended.

Korea has been paying in full the regular budget, which is calculated annually, but has been failing to pay much of the peacekeeping dues, which change sporadically based on ongoing operations.

The government has been able so far to scratch up enough money so far to avoid losing voting rights, officials explained.

But to secure more influence in the U.N. decision-making process, three areas are deemed crucial: fulfillment of budget obligations, manpower participation in peacekeeping operations, and the amount of voluntary contributions.

Korea rates 11th in allotment fulfillment among the 191 member countries, but is 70th or 80th in peacekeeping participation. There are currently only about 50 Koreans involved in peacekeeping activities in such areas as West Sahara and Pakistan.

And, its voluntary payments are among the lowest of any member countries, government officials said.

"We have been having constant problems paying off the allotment and the arrearage, but decided this year`s accumulation may have reached a point of no return," the government official said.

Getting sufficient funds exclusively for U.N. budget obligations from the nation`s yearly budget distribution by the Ministry of Planning and Budget have been difficult and sensitive, the official said.

Finally coming to terms with the gravity of the situation, the government decided this year to effectively manage and pay off arrearage to the international organization as one of the top priority projects by the Foreign Ministry.

In order to effectively engage in U.N. peacekeeping activities, the Defense and Foreign Ministries are pushing to introduce a special law to set up a specialized unit in the Korean military.

The ministries are holding working-level discussions on the issue, officials said.

The government is also working for legislation to approve the special bill on dispatch of peacekeeping contingents, which at present needs individual approval from the National Assembly each year.

"The government has finally realized the urgency in paying off our arrearage and measures are being taken to resolve the issue," the official said.

The reason for such a sharp increase in the arrearage is due to Korea`s increased allotment rate from 1.0 percent in 2000 to nearly 1.8 percent this year.

The rate is adjusted according to the Gross National Product. Korea was among the fastest growing countries, along with for example Singapore, to be hit with drastic allotment increases over the past several years.

"The actual amount of Korea`s payment, therefore, has increased by 40 percent in total each year recently," the official said.

The highest percentage allotment rates are 22 percent for the United States and 19.5 percent for Japan.

(angiely@heraldm.com)



By Lee Joo-hee