The role of international organizations on disarmament of the Korean Peninsula: The cases of un and Asean

The aim of this thesis is to analyze the role of international organizations on the disarmament of the Korean Peninsula. Since they are closely related to security of the Korean Peninsula, the UN and the ASEAN are taken as cases and their roles are examined using a comparative method. Initially, the concept of disarmament was separated from the concepts of arms control and non-proliferation, and conceptual confusion was tried to be eliminated. In addition, the boundaries of the disarmament concept mentioned in the study were specified. General and complete disarmament, which means the complete elimination of WMDs and a significant reduction in conventional weapons, was chosen to prevent the problem in the peninsula from being reduced to nuclear weapons of North Korea, alone. In order to provide a theoretical framework for the role of UN and ASEAN, the approaches of international relations theories towards disarmament have been tried to be detailed. Then, historically, international disarmament attempts are explained, and the active role of the UN has been paid attention. Here again, arms control and non- proliferation initiatives, which are often confused with disarmament attempts, are tried to keep out. After the theoretical framework was formed, the historical armament process of North Korea and South Korea was explained. The main purpose here is to understand what kind of developments have prompted the two Koreas to focus on defense. For this reason, cultural, historical, and strategic perspectives on the perception of threat in the Korean Peninsula are also mentioned. It was concluded that, in addition to the nuclear weapons of North Korea, the conventional armament of South Korea and the military existence of the US constitute an obstacle to peace in the peninsula. Finally, the relations of ASEAN and UN with the two Koreas and their involvement in the security of the Korean Peninsula are examined. The initiatives of the UN in the disarmament of the region are generally shaped within the framework of international cooperation. It has become clear that the role of the UN is parallel to the liberal perspective on ensuring disarmament. ASEAN, relying on the power of discourse and norms, has made efforts in line with the position of the constructivist theory on disarmament. However, it has been revealed that the efforts of these two international organizations are mainly concentrated on North Korea's nuclear program. Keywords: Korean Peninsula, disarmament, ASEAN, UN.