North Korea demands dissolution of UN command in South Korea

North Korea has repeated its call for the dissolution of the US-led UN Command (UNC) in South Korea, which monitors compliance with the 1953 armistice agreement.
On behalf of its Institute for Disarmament and Peace, the Foreign Ministry in Pyongyang accused the United States on Monday of having formed an "illegal war organization" with the command in 1950. It should have been abolished decades ago, the institute was quoted as saying by the state media of the isolated country.
The UNC was formed in 1950 shortly after the invasion of South Korea by North Korean troops. Its aim was to assist South Korea with military units from several different countries brought together under the UN flag.
The main task of the UNC today is to ensure that the 1953 armistice agreement is honoured. Over the years North Korea has often demanded the dissolution of the UNC and has also called for the US to end its troop presence in South Korea.
The US currently has 28,500 soldiers stationed there.
North Korea's latest demand came one day before a planned meeting between South Korean Defence Minister Shin Won Sik and his counterparts or their representatives from 17 member states of the UNC in Seoul.
The institute in North Korea also criticised South Korea's announcement that at the meeting the participants would emphasize the willingness of UNC members to deal appropriately with emergencies on the Korean peninsula. The UNC was once again revealing its "aggressive nature," the institute claimed.