Shifts in UN Composition and the "Korean Question" Debate in the General Assembly in the Early 1960s

The year 1960, known as the &quotYear of Africa,&quot marked a crucial turning point in the UN&quots discussion of the &quotKorean Question.&quot The decolonization of African nations and their subsequent admission to the UN weakened the numerical superiority of the United States and the Western bloc. When the United States reacted passively to the African nations&quot demands for recognition of sovereignty at the 15th General Assembly in 1960-1961, the African nations made a strategic decision to support the simultaneous invitation of both North and South Korea to the UN General Assembly. For the first time, South Korea and the United States, albeit conditionally, had to propose the idea of inviting North Korea to the UN. This instilled a fear in the South Korean government and society that the international community might officially recognize &quottwo Koreas.&quot Henceforth, South Korea and the United States had to be mindful of the support of newly independent Third World countries within the UN. The United States could no longer insist on including the &quotTwo Principles,&quot which had been upheld as a principle of unification since the 1950s, in UN resolutions. The foundation for the South Korean government&quots official unification policy, the &quotUN-supervised general elections in all Korea,&quot was also jeopardized.