Towards Peaceful Settlement in Korea

"Off Ramps to War: Paths to Building Peace with North Korea" conference was held June 13, 2017, at the George Washington University School of International Affairs, Washington, DC,
 discussing various concrete paths towards peaceful settlement and "shared security" in the Korean Peninsular, with former Defense Secretary William Perry, renowned Koreanist Professor Bruce Cumings, veterans for peace, humanitarian NGOs, UN program officer, separated families, scholars, activists, journalists and concerned citizens.

Petition Campaign in Opposition to the Deployment of THAAD in South Korea Surpasses 100,000

The "We the People" whitehouse.gov petition campaign in opposition to the deployment of the THAAD anti-missile defense system in South Korea has surpassed the 100,000 threshold mark needed to obtain an official response from the White House on the issue.

The petition campaign was initiated by Korean Americans based in the Washington, DC area and spread across the U.S., and the momentum intensified as Koreans in South Korea joined in, including citizens of Seongju where the deployment will take place,  signifying widespread opposition to the move by the South Korean government.

Opposition to THAAD Deployment in South Korea Grows

Opposition to THAAD antimissile system in South Korea is growing, especially fervently by the residents of Seongju (where the THAAD system will be placed), who are concerned about adverse health effects on residents nearby the system.


Koreans in the U.S. has initiated a petition campaign:


Rescind the decision to deploy THAAD antimissile system in South Korea.


The U.S. and South Korean governments, against wide opposition of South Koreans (and strong subsequent backlash from local citizens of the deployment site), have agreed to deploy U.S.-made THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Air Defense) system in South Korea. This measure is supposedly to counter North Korean ballistic missiles and provide additional security, yet this is a controversial move that will likely to escalate tension in the region, by provoking North Korea, China and Russia into a spiraling arms race in the region that is already heavily militarized with weapons of mass destruction. Now, more than ever, is the time to step back and de-escalate tensions by pursuing negotiated settlements that will provide sustainable peace mechanism in the Korean Peninsula and the surrounding region. 
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/rescind-decision-deploy-thaad-antimissile-system-south-korea

The Confrontation in the West Sea Area Begs Peaceful Settlement

Guns have flared again dangerously in Korea -- in Yeonpyeong Island in the West Sea (Yellow Sea), within the disputed maritime border area between the two sides of Korea. Despite North Korea's claim that its action was in retaliation to its vocally-protested South Korea's naval exercises in the region, the North Korean military was wrong to fire its artillery directly at the island, hitting both military and civilian targets, resulting in military and civilian casualties and substantial damage to the island. This in turn prompted South Korea to return artillery fire to the North Korean shore.

This confrontation is one of many deadly clashes that has occurred in this area, due to the long-standing dispute arising from the unsettled vestige of the Korean War and the fragility of its armistice, which still stands to this day -- 57 years after its signing. Unlike the land-based DMZ agreed upon by the Korean War armistice, the maritime border was not clearly delineated. The UN command then unilaterally created the Northern Limit Line (NLL), which encroaches dangerously close to North Korea's shores in the area (just 7.5 miles from Yeonpyeong Island to North Korea) -- and which expectedly North Korea does not acknowledge.

The above photo shows an outline of the proposed "Special Area for West Sea Peace Cooperation" around the NLL, agreed as a part of the October 4, 2007 Joint Declaration by then-President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea and Chairman Kim Jong-il of North Korea. The shaded, numbered areas indicate proposed areas of cooperation and development for joint peaceful usage such as joint fishery and economic zone, with the idea of promoting inter-Korea collaboration instead of continuously engaging in deadly military standoff in the area. Had this agreement been implemented by the succeeding administration of President Lee Myong-bak, the clashes in the West Sea would have surely been prevented. Lee administration's other hardline policies toward North Korea did not help the situation.

With Washington's refusal on North Korea's request for direct talks and Seoul's denouncement of the Sunshine Policy of inter-Korea rapproachement, Pyongyang may have hastily and dangerously gambled on a dramatic attempt to get the issue in the front burner of the world stage, along with its recent revelation of uranium enrichment activities. If all parties agree that escalation of the current crisis needs to be prevented to avoid an all-out war and its unimaginable destruction and casualties, all avenues towards a peaceful settlement must be pursued. In this spirit, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter responded quickly to the current crisis, calling for engagement with North Korea. On the other hand, the usual repetition of show of military force using joint U.S.-South Korea exercises including a nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier in the West Sea will not be conducive to this path.

War Games Amidst Korean War Armistice Anniversary, OPCON Transfer Delayed

July 27 was the 57th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice, when the ceace-fire and precarious peace is still marked in absence of a peace treaty, yet the U.S. and South Korea went ahead with massive naval exercises in the East Sea during this time, much to the consternations of North Korea and China. The war games were in response to the Cheonan incident (which is still a controversial issue in South Korea), but such a military response and show of force tend to escalate tensions, rather than diffusing a volatile situation.

In Washington, peace activists mobilized during July 27th to urge US Congress and the Obama administration to seek a permanent peace settlement in the Korean Peninsula. The National Campaing to End the Korean War held a series of events in DC, and the Committee for the Implementation of the June 15 Joint Declaration for Reunification of Korea (with delegates from South Korea, Australia, Mexico, and around the US) held a forum in the US Congress on Korea's peace/security issues.

In another development, not much covered by the media, is the postponement of the wartime OPCON (operational control) transfer from the US military to the South Korean military. The long overdue transfer of OPCON, a remnant of the Korean War-era arrangement when the South Korean government voluntarily relinquished its military control to US commanders, was agreed by both governments and was to take place in 2012, but it now has been pushed back to 2015, due to insistence by the Lee Myung-bak government, with pressure from ultra-conservative forces. The delay in the transfer does not help the image of South Korea which is about to host a G-20 meeting and reveals the contradiction and oddity of an independent nation and economic powerhouse with strong military not having control of its own forces during wartime -- an arrangement that resembles a protectorate.

China Sends Warning on US-Korea Joint Naval Exercises

Increasing intensity, Beijing has aired its resentment and condemnation of planned joint US-South Korea naval exercises (moved already from the West Sea [Yellow Sea] to the Eas Sea in likely deferrance to China's concerns). The two powers are flexing their diplomatic and military muscles, but in a way, isn't it somewhat fair and timely for China to express its security concerns to the US?

This development may become a new dimension that will likely counter or limit US influence in the Asia-Pacific, which will lead to new military/security implications on US-Korea and US-Japan relations. Besides the opposition to US-South Korea military exercises from North Korea and peace activists in South Korea, China is now in the picture. And yes, China has gained formidable military and economic might in few decades, vis-a-vis the US, to put some teeth into what it says (definitely not a "paper tiger"), which will make the US military planners think twice before engagning in unilateralism in the Asia-Pacific. Perhaps China doesn't want to be bullied by the US anymore, as it sheds its inferiority complex brought out by Western and Japanese imperialism of 100 years ago and its self-imposed isolation during the Cultural Revolution.

If Russia and Cuba held a large naval exercise in the Gulf of Mexico near the US border, what likely response would Washington take? It would be simiilar to China's -- or more drastic and vocal. Remember the high tensions during the Cuban missile crisis? This maybe a kind of manifestation of the big powers' NIMBY (not in my backyard) syndrome. But the reality is that the Pacific is no longer the "American lake." China develops security contingency plans on Korea, as the US does the same, but the notion of North Korea becoming a possible colony of China is far-fetched.

Of course, Koreans in both south and north, need to be mindful of the big powers maneuverings and their implications for Korea (mindful of their disastrous effect on Korea during the turn of the 20th century), while developing their own strategy to promote independent and united Korea that will not be a military threat to their neighbors.