The First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly adopted on Wednesday a resolution submitted by South Korea to encourage youth participation in disarmament and nonproliferation efforts.

It is the first resolution Seoul has proposed as the single “main sponsor” to the First Committee, which deals with disarmament and international security matters, since it joined the UN in 1991.

Eighty-four countries including South Korea co-sponsored the resolution on “youth, disarmament and nonproliferation,” and the committee passed it by consensus, without a vote.

All the resolutions adopted by the First Committee will be laid before the plenary meeting of the UN General Assembly in December.

The resolution proposed by Seoul encourages young people to engage in discussions on disarmament and nonproliferation, requests countries and international organizations to consider policy developments for this purpose, and stresses the importance of fostering disarmament and nonproliferation experts through education, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said.

The resolution was recognized for developing a cooperation agenda that many countries identify with amid the intensifying confrontation within the First Committee that led to a decline in the number of resolutions adopted by consensus, the Foreign Ministry said in a press release.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)