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PYEONGTEAK — Germany on Friday formally joined the US-led UN Command (UNC) as the 18th official member state, marking the first expansion of the multinational force in more than a decade.
Germany's admission into the unit overseeing the armistice of the 1950-53 Korean War came as South Korea has recently sought to expand cooperation with like-minded countries to better deter North Korea's evolving military threats, Yonhap news agency reported.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said his country's decision to join the UNC reflected growing security ties between Europe and the Indo-Pacific region.
"By joining the United Nations Command, we showcase our dedication to shared security and our close ties with like-minded partners, particularly the US and Korea," Pistorius said at a ceremony at the command's headquarters in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometres south of Seoul.
"Our decision to join the UNC is evidence of our strong belief that European security is closely linked to the security of the Indo-Pacific."
It marked the first expansion of the command since 2013 when Italy was reinstated as a member.
Defense Minister Shin Won-sik hailed Germany's admission during bilateral talks with Pistorius earlier in the day, saying that South Korea and the UNC now have a "new partner" to jointly respond to North Korea's threats.
"Our bilateral talks today have proven to me once again while we may be far apart geographically, our common interests and security concerns are not. In fact they are closely connected," Pistorius said during the ceremony.
The command was established under a 1950 UN mandate to support South Korea against North Korean aggression during the war, which technically has never ended as a peace treaty was not signed.
A total of 22 countries, including the United States, Britain and Australia, sent troops or medical support to the South during and right after the war. Germany provided medical assistance to South Korea from 1954-59 but was not included as a UNC member state as the armistice was signed in July 1953.
Germany applied to join the multinational command earlier this year, which President Yoon Suk Yeol welcomed during his summit talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Washington last month.
Berlin had previously attempted to join the UNC, but the move was turned down in 2019 under the previous liberal government of President Moon Jae-in amid a reconciliatory mood with North Korea. Pyongyang has long called for dissolving the command.
Although South Korea is not a member state of the command, admission into the multinational force requires consultations with the host country.
The stance has changed under the conservative Yoon administration as it has pushed to strengthen the role of the UNC amid growing North Korean threats.
Last year, Seoul hosted the inaugural defense ministerial meeting of UNC member states, where they vowed a "united" response to any renewal of hostilities or armed attack challenging South Korea's security.
North Korea has pressed ahead with its spate of weapons tests this year, launching 48 missiles on 14 occasions, according to South Korean officials.
It has also forged deeper military ties with Russia, with leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signing a "comprehensive strategic partnership" treaty that includes a mutual defense clause during their summit in Pyongyang in June.
South Korea and the US have accused Pyongyang of supplying arms to Moscow to fuel its war in Ukraine. Minister Shin said in a recent interview with Bloomberg that the North has sent 12,000 shipping containers to Russia that could hold up to 5.6 million artillery shells.