The UN Peace-keeping Operations (PKOs) have progressed as exemplary activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of international peace and security over the years. The UN PKOs are joint police actions for preventing international conflicts and promoting their peaceful settlements by the UN members. Thus far there have been over 60 such activities, participated by over 1 million soldiers from about 120 nations.
In the new environments of international order in the post-Cold war period, Korea has participated in 15 PKOs, including UNOSOM II in internal conflicts of Somalia in 1993. Korea have also dispatched several thousands of troops to anti-terrorism war and the Iraqi war as part of multinational forces, while currently serving in Afganistan. The reputation and prestige of the Korean PKOs have been high in international society as well as within the UN, with their excellent performances and achievements.
It is a time, however, for Korea as a late-starter, to seek new directions and strategies both to implement national interests and to contribute to the international society through mature and effective overseas dispatches of the military forces. The reason for this new attempt is that international community has a high expectation on Korea as the 10th economic power and leading UN member.
How and how much the achievements of the Korea's military activities have contributed to the national interests of Korea? Do Korea have proper policy, laws and regulations, institutions, and rules of conduct, necessary to realize better accomplishments? Or what are the problems and challenges for improvement in the future? It would be very meaningful to find lessons and implications, in the lights that the overseas activities of the Korean military represent a significant military projects, for the development of its own and the contribution to improvement of national capability, through the role of international force.
This study focuses upon finding policy suggestions, with assessment on the experiences and achievements of the Korean military activities overseas in PKOs and multinational forces operations. Therefore, this paper, fast, describes the current situation in PKOs worldwide, second, examines and explains the current situation and characteristics of the overseas activities of the Korean military, third, finds the problems and explores the alternatives for improvement in terms of policies, laws and rules, and operations, fourth suggests lessons and implications for the future, and lastly makes conclusion.