Distinguished guests, honoured veterans of the Korean War, representatives of the Republic of Korea, ambassadors and representatives of the United Nations Command Member States, ladies and gentlemen. It is a privilege to join you as we mark the seventy-third anniversary of the signing of the Korean War Armistice Agreement.
The motto of United Nations Command is simple: Under One Flag. Under One Flag. Let us reflect for a moment on what this motto represents. Uniquely in history, in 1950 the Free Nations of the world, came together in response to tyranny and aggression. These nations from Europe, the Americas, from Asia, Africa and Australasia fought side by side with South Koreans defending their homes. They came together and fought Under One Flag. Together, they sacrificed their greatest treasure, their young men and women, to secure freedom’s frontier. Under One Flag, their courage secured more than an Armistice. It secured the opportunity for generations to live in peace.
To the veterans with us today, and to the families who continue to carry the legacy of that service and sacrifice, thank you. Your generation endured hardship few of us can truly comprehend. The peace we have preserved for more than seven decades rests upon the foundation you built.
That is the legacy we gather to honour.
When the Armistice Agreement was signed at Panmunjom on the morning of 27 July 1953, the fighting did not stop immediately. For another twelve hours, soldiers continued to serve their duty until, at ten o'clock that evening, the guns finally fell silent.
The signing of the Agreement was not the end of responsibility for the international community and United Nations Command. In many respects, it marked the beginning of a new one.
When the ink dried on the Armistice Agreement, responsibility for preserving the peace did not end with those who signed it. It passed to those who would follow. The Agreement entrusted its signatories—and the generations that succeeded them—not simply to uphold its letter, but its spirit.
Let us consider the words of the 1953 Washington Declaration. Because this is the foundational spirit that underpins the Armistice that has endured for the past 73 years.
We, the United Nations Members whose military forces are participating in the Korean action, support the decision of the Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Command to conclude an armistice agreement. We hereby affirm our determination fully and faithfully to carry out the terms of that armistice.
The member States of the United Nations stand by the spirit of the Washington Declaration, and on this anniversary we again commit ourselves to stand alongside our Korean hosts, to ensure that the hard-won Armistice endures undiminished until an ultimate Peace is attained.
For seventy-three years, successive generations of soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, guardians and civilians have accepted that responsibility. Together with the Republic of Korea and our Member States, they have served under United Nations Command as faithful stewards of the Armistice, helping preserve the peace and stability that has endured on this Peninsula for more than seven decades.
Every generation has inherited that responsibility. None has inherited precisely the same challenge.
The soldiers who upheld the Armistice in 1953 could never have imagined many of the threats that confront us today. Yet I believe they would immediately recognise the obligation we have inherited: to preserve peace through professionalism, vigilance and readiness.
In the words of the Washington Declaration: “The task ahead is not an easy one.”
Faithfulness to our mission has never meant standing still.
It has required each generation to adapt while remaining faithful to the enduring purpose entrusted to them.
That is our responsibility today.
To ensure that the peace secured in 1953 endures for generations to come.
The veterans we honour today fulfilled the responsibility entrusted to them in their generation.
That responsibility now belongs to us.
The greatest tribute we can pay those who served is not simply to remember their sacrifice, but to prove ourselves worthy stewards of the peace they secured. Inside United Nations Command Headquarters, outside the office of the Commander, sits the Armistice Room, the very soul of United Nations Command. Within lies part of the table one which the Armistice was signed, Around the room are the books containing the names of those who fought and dies, Under One Flag, to secure that Armistice. It is the first place we bring any distinguished visitor, and for those of us who have the privilege to serve at United Nations Command, this sacred space is a daily reminder of our sacred and enduring duty to safeguard peace.
To the people of the Republic of Korea, know this: just as the nations of the United Nations stood with you in 1950, United Nations Command remains steadfast in its commitment to preserving peace, upholding the Armistice Agreement, and ensuring that the responsibility entrusted to us seventy-three years ago continues to be faithfully carried forward.
Under One Flag
Thank you.
Hangul Korean-language version of the transcript.