From Korean War Armistice to Peace Settlement

Today marks the 67th anniversary of the signing of the Korean War Armistice Agreement, and yet we still do not have the “final political settlement” inscribed in the agreement. So, technically the Korean War has not officially ended, lacking a peace treaty that will replace the armistice and the ensuing uneasy truce.

Political/diplomatic dynamics have drastically changed in many ways since 1953, with the end of the Cold War for example, but the logical players that need to initially seek the peace settlement in Korea are still the nations behind the signatories of the armistice: the United Nations Command (the US), the Korean People’s Army (North Korea), and the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army (China).

South Korea did not sign the armistice in protest at the time (but did it regardless by being a part of the UN Command, and under the US command), but made several subsequent peace agreements with North Korea and is committed to inter-Korean rapprochement. The US and China normalized relations in the 70s. China (and Russia) normalized relations and made peace with South Korea. Both sides of Korea have become members of the UN and the UN has distanced itself from the UN Command in Korea, making it defunct in reality and making the UN incapable of being an arbiter in the resolution of the “Korea question.” The only remaining foreign troops in Korea are the US troops. And the only relation that has not changed after all these years is between the US and North Korea.

The talks between Washington and Pyongyang have again stalled, but they need to be resumed in light of the continuing uncertainty and volatility created by the absence of a peace treaty ending the Korean War. It is about time to put an official closure to the Korean War and chart a new path towards a meaningful peace settlement in the Korean Peninsula.

Trump's DMZ Crossing: Just a Photo-op or Opportunity for Progress?

Photo 1: On June 30, 2019, Trump crosses the raised concrete strip representing the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) that divides Korea at Panmunjum (the Joint Security Area in the DMZ/Demilitarized Zone), becoming the first sitting US president to step foot on North Korea.

Photo 2: Kim Jong-un crosses the same line into South Korea (accompanied by South Korea's Moon Jae-in), becoming the first North Korean leader to do so, in April 2018.

Photo 3: South Korean college student Im Soo-kyung (who went to North Korea to participate in the World Youth Festival) crosses the line, at the same location, into South Korea in 1989, becoming the first Korean civilian to willfully cross that line (and not by accident, defection or espionage) since the Korean War ended in an armistice and the creation of the MDL/DMZ in 1953.

Symbolism matters in the DMZ, like the Berlin Wall. That concrete line in the DMZ, a highly recognizable -- and painful to all Koreans -- symbol of prolonged Korean division and the last vestige of the Cold War, is now casually crossed over -- by government/military officials and civilians on inter-Korean meetings or exchanges.

And history was made this past Sunday as Trump crossed the line, symbolically as a "peacemaker" (whatever his motivation may have been) in a business suit and not wearing the usual military attire that US presidents had done when visiting the southern side of the DMZ in the past. [Trump's overall antics aside, his unprecedented summits with Kim and this DMZ crossing showed a way besides the business-as-usual approach.]

But that casual crossing has not been the case always. In 1989, Im Soo-kyung (accompanied by Father Moon Kyu-hyun) risked long imprisonment in South Korea for crossing that line (she received five-year sentence for violating South Korea's draconian and archaic National Security Law), in a brave and unprecedented action to help bring about a breakthrough for peace and reunification of Korea.

With persistent efforts and sacrifices of many civilian activists like Im, the once-impenetrable wall dividing Korea began to crack and led to a series of inter-Korean rapprochement and cooperation towards negotiated settlement for peace in Korea.

Now, the US and North Korea must transcend historical hostilities and animosities (and skepticism of cynics) and translate this historical moment into real progress towards negotiating a lasting peace settlement in the Korean Peninsula.

From Pyongyang and Washington to Hanoi

The second US-NK summit is taking place -- of all places in the world -- Hanoi, Vietnam, where the US intervened and fought a brutal war, made peace, and then normalized relations. The US fought in Korea too, more than six decades ago, but never made peace with North Korea.

We now have a rare window of opportunity to move forward with a peace settlement in Korea and new relations. A cliche it may be, but let's "Give Peace a Chance."

(Photo courtesy of Nobel Women's Iniative which sent a delegation to Hanoi in support of peace settlement in Korea.)

2015: A Watershed Year for the Korean Peninsula?

2015 is the 70^th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, and sadly, the same anniversary of Korea’s unexpected and unwanted division into two entities by external forces in August of 1945.  Koreans give a special meaning to 70^th anniversary, as 70^th birthday of a person is celebrated with special honor and awe in Korea. So it is no accident that Koreans of all walks of life are expressing a strong desire for a drastic and optimistic change in the status quo of the Korean division in 2015. 

President Park Geun-hye of South Korea, facing political troubles and unpopularity at the domestic front, is warming up to the idea of approaching North Korea for renewed contacts and exchanges. Chairman Kim Jung-un of North Korea, bent on implementing economic reforms and modernization, is also eager to engage with South Korea and did not rule out a summit meeting in his New Year’s address. Furthermore, Korean activists in Korea and overseas are gearing up for major events and projects in 2015 aimed at fostering peace and reconciliation of the Korean Peninsula to a next level.

Yet the Obama administration is lukewarm to the idea of renewed inter-Korea engagement and has in effect thrown cold water to these developments. No doubt, tensions remain high between Pyongyang and Washington over nuclear weapon development, ballistic missiles, war games, sanctions, and human rights issues, exacerbated by the recent comical fracas over the film “The Interview” and the Sony Pictures hacking incident, but both sides may realize that dialogue/engagement is the only viable option that can prevent escalation into renewed conflict or unthinkable war. With Washington's recent move to normalize relations with Cuba, there is no reason not to move in similar direction, even for first few steps, with North Korea, America’s last remaining Cold War adversary -- before time runs out.     

Koreans in the U.S. Send Open Letter to Pres. Obama on the Crisis in Korean Peninsula

Open Letter to President Barack Obama on the Urgent Situation in the Korean Peninsula

March 10, 2013

Dear President Obama,

At this moment, the Korean Peninsula is facing the most serious danger of possible outbreak of war since the Korean War. It is not an exaggeration that the United Nations Security Council Resolution No. 2094 (tighter sanctions against North Korea following North Korea’s third nuclear weapon testing) has brought the matters to hair trigger situation. North Korea, in response, has announced the renouncement of nonaggression agreements between the two sides of Korea and the cessation of the hot line between the two governments.

Moreover, North Korea has already declared its abandonment of the Korean War Armistice Agreement starting on March 11, to coincide with the start of the Key Resolve/Foal Eagle joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises. All these ominous developments are leading the Korean Peninsula closer to war.

Through these years, we have seen that sanctions and pressures against North Korea are not realistic approaches towards peaceful resolution; rather they have brought more tension and crisis. All nations -- the U.S., North Korea, South Korea, and the U.N. Security Council member nations – will surely want a peaceful resolution and not resort to another war. Indeed, a peaceful resolution is the only viable road for peace and security in the peninsula and the region.

We respectfully ask the following:

First, initiate dialogue with North Korea on the road to peaceful resolution, culminating in theformulation of peace treaty. The replacement of the Korean War armistice agreement with a peace treaty is the only way to move away from the current crisis. You have pursued a policy of strategic patience towards North Korea through these years, but this path has not succeeded. Under current armistice mechanism, this kind of crisis will repeat itself constantly. The only way is to convert temporary armistice to real and lasting peace, guaranteed by a peace treaty.

Second, we ask the repeal of the Resolution No. 2094 as it is a catalyst of bringing the Korean Peninsula closer to war.

Third, we ask the end of Key Resolve/Foal Eagle military exercises. As the cessation of the Team Spirits exercises in 1992 brought about the start of dialog between Washington and Pyongyang, dialog can restart with the end of Key Resolve/Foal Eagle exercises.

Concerned Korean Americans, Koreans in the U.S., and Americans: 
Organizations:
June 15 Joint Committee for One Korea – U.S. Committee
Channing and Popai Liem Education Foundation
Congress for Korean Reunification
Korean American Women of Peace
Korea Policy Institute
Korea Project/Center for Process Studies, Claremont Lincoln University, Claremont, CA
Korean Quarterly
National Association of Korean Americans
National Campaign to End the Korean War
National Committee for Peace in Korea
Nodutdol for Korean Community Development, NY
Pan-Korean Alliance for Reunification in U.S.A
Korean American National Coordinating Council
Korean American Support Committee for UPP
SASASE in US (LA, DC, Phila., NY, San Jose, Seattle, Chicago)
and concerned individuals...

Action for Peace in Korea on the Korean War Armistice Day

July 27 is the anniversary of the signing of the Korean War Armistice in 1953, supposedly a temporary measure towards signing of permanent peace treaty. Yet, after fifty-nine years, peace treaty has not been signed to officially end the Korean War, keeping the Korean Peninsula in a perpetual semi-war-like state of mutual distrust, military buildup and frequent confrontations.


Though there are many contentious issues that need to be resolved toward permanent peace settlement, one of the first logical steps is the signing of peace treaty. It is also a long overdue action to remove the archaic remnant and last vestige of the Cold War. As one of the signatories of the Korean War Armistice, the U.S. has an obligation to do its part towards this end.

The coming July 27th is also the date of the opening ceremony of the London Olympics. On this day that celebrates peace and solidarity of the Olympic spirit, please join friends and concerned citizens in a peace action calling for a lasting peace in Korea, including the conversion of the Korean War Armistice Agreement to peace treaty, as a step towards comprehensive peace settlement in the Korean Peninsula.
(Event info. Sponsors: National Association of Korean Americans, Sasase-Washington/Koreans for Peace)

NY Conference on Peace & Cooperation in NE Asia

The Conference on Peace and Cooperation in Northeast Asia was held during March 7-9, 2012 at the Millennium UN Plaza Hotel, New York City. This historic event was co-sponsored by: Freidrigh-Ebert-Stiftung, Maxwell School of Syracuse University, National Association of Korean Americans, Center for Peace and Public Integrity at Hanshin University, Pacific Century Institute.

This was a Track II meeting on peace and cooperation in Northeast Asia, with focus on peace and security in the Korean Peninsula, with participants (former and current government ministers and officials, academics, representatives of political parties and civil society organizations) from the six-party talks nations, plus Mongolia and Germany. It concluded with the reaffirmation by all participants for the pursuit of the peace process in the Korean Peninsula that would lead to comprehensive peace and security, and multilateral cooperation in the Northeast Asia region. Notable at this conference was candor in interactions between participants from North Korea and the U.S., inclusion of Mongolia in the regional dialogue, and comparative perspectives of the European security mechanisms and the German reunification experience.

Statement on the US-DPRK Bilateral Talks Results

A Statement from NAKA

The results from the third exploratory round of U.S.-DPRK bilateral talks in Beijing announced today show a sign of improvement and progress towards a peaceful settlement in the Korean Peninsula, as "to improve the atmosphere for dialogue and demonstrate its commitment to denuclearization, the DPRK has agreed to implement a moratorium on long-range missile launches, nuclear tests and nuclear activities at Yongbyon, including uranium enrichment activities" and the U.S. has "agreed to meet with the DPRK to finalize administrative details necessary to move forward with [the] proposed package of 240,000 metric tons of nutritional assistance along with the intensive monitoring required for the delivery of such assistance."

Furthermore, we welcome the following points that came out of the discussions:

The United States reaffirms that it does not have hostile intent toward the DPRK and is prepared to take steps to improve bilateral relationship in the spirit of mutual respect for sovereignty and equality.

The United States reaffirms its commitment to the September 19, 2005 Joint Statement.

The United States recognizes the 1953 Armistice Agreement as the cornerstone of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

The United States is prepared to take steps to increase people-to-people exchanges, including in the areas of culture, education, and sports.

U.S. sanctions against the DPRK are not targeted against the livelihood of the DPRK people.


The National Association of Korean Americans (NAKA) welcomes this development and urges both parties to implement these measures in earnest, concurrent with other mutual efforts to improve relations and work towards a comprehensive peace settlement in the Korean Peninsula.
February 29, 2012
Washington, DC
The National Association of Korean Americans (NAKA)
www.naka.org

Protesters at the White House Demand Conversion of Korean War Armistice to Peace Treaty

On the 58th anniversary of the signing of the Korean War Armistice on July 21, 2011, protesters -- young and old, Koreans and non-Koreans -- gathered in front of the White House to demand the signing of peace treaty to replace the temporary armistice in place to pave a way to broader peace settlement in the Korean Peninsula and to ensure lasting peace mechanism in Northeast Asia. Prior to the candlelight rally, a workshop focusing on various challenges in Northeast Asia (Korea War Armistice and Jeju naval base controversy, Okinawa base relocation issue, China and the U.S.'s role in the region) took place at the Institute for Policy Studies.

Following is the statement from the candlelight rally.
----------------------------------------------------
Convert the Korean War Armistice to Peace Treaty

As we commemorate the 58th anniversary of the signing of the Korean War Armistice and hold a candlelight vigil in front of the White House in honor of the nameless spirits who sacrificed their lives during and since the Korean War, we also demand a permanent peace settlement on the Korean Peninsula.

On July 27, 1953, the U.S. signed (for the U.N. Command in Korea) an Armistice agreement with China and North Korea to temporarily halt the fighting that claimed 4 million lives and divided 10 million families, pending a formulation of a peace treaty. Despite the desire of people in North and South Korea for peace and reconciliation, no peace treaty has been signed since. Though China has since normalized relations with the U.S. and South Korea, the U.S. has yet to normalize relations with North Korea likewise. Sixty years after the outbreak of the Korean War, the United States continues to have a strong military presence in South Korea including 24 military bases and 28,500 military personnel. We demand that the U.S. move towards signing the peace treaty to officially end the Korean War.

The peace treaty in itself may not be enough to guarantee permanent peace in the peninsula, but it is a first logical step to take, that will aid in mutual confidence-building towards formulating a comprehensive and binding peace settlement. The previous attempts by the two sides of Korea on an inter-Korea peace agreement are good precedents for this process.

The need for a peace treaty is also a part of a larger political issue of not only bringing peace to a divided Korean peninsula but also developing a regional framework that provides a means for resolving conflicts and promoting peace in Northeast Asia. East Asia has historically been considered a dispute-ridden region in which the countries participating in the Six Party Talks (U.S., Russia, China, North Korea, South Korea, and Japan) account for nearly 65 percent of the world’s military spending. With military spending increasing in this region, there is no room for peace in East Asia nor peaceful relations between North and South Korea. We demand the end to arms build-up and arms race in the region.

Sponsors: National Association of Korean Americans (NAKA), Foreign Policy in Focus, SaSaSe-Washington (Korean Americans for Peace)
Co-Sponsors: Washington Peace Center, June 15 Committee for Peace and Reunification (U.S. Committee), Korean American Committee for Democracy and Reunification, SaSaSe-Seattle, Good Friends USA, Network for Okinawans, Nodutdol for Korean Community Development, National Campaign to End the Korean War, World Student Christian Federation of the North American Region, World Student Christian Federation of the Asia-Pacific Region, Veterans for Peace NYC

A Call for Peaceful Settlement in Korea

A Call for All Concerned Parties to Work for Peaceful Settlement in the Korean Peninsula

A Statement from NAKA (National Association of Korean Americans), Washington, DC, January 20, 2011

A precarious security situation in the Korean Peninsula continues as the tense military standoff between the two sides of Korea has not abated since the Yeonpyeong Island artillery incident. After the incident, South Korea went on a near-war mode as it revived civilian air raid drills (regularly-occuring drills that were cancelled during the past decade when inter-Korea relations were warmer), held live-fire artillery exercises in the disputed sea border area despite explicit warnings from North Korea, and engaged in massive joint naval military exercises with the U.S. as a show of force.

South Korea went further by talking with Japan on potential military cooperations, including a possibility of Japanese troops on the Korean soil, despite fierce opposition from Koreans weary with memories of historical Japanese military intrusions on Korea. China and Russia expressed their concerns on the U.S.'s massive show of force in the Northeast Asia and announced their own joint military exercises in the region, further escalating the situation and raising fears of renewed multi-nation arms race in the region.

Despite escalating tensions and war hysteria, both sides have gestured a need for a peaceful option, realizing unchecked escalation of military tensions would only lead to catastrophic war. North Korea opposed verbally at South Korea-U.S. maneuvers, but it did not retaliate further militarily, and called for unconditional talks with South Korea. South Korea, in a reversal, raised a possibility of the support of the revival of the six-nation talks aimed at North Korea's nuclear disarmament. Washington and Beijing, emphasizing cooperation (despite mutual distrust and competition) during the U.S.-China Summit, have called for improved inter-Korean relations and measures that would allow an early resumption of six-nation talks. A high-level inter-Korea military talks may materialize soon.

All these point to a negotiated settlement as the only viable option towards peace settlement in the Korean Peninsula -- all concerned parties need to work on it vigorously in 2011.

What Will 2011 Bring to the Korean Peninsula?

The tumultuous year 2010 in Korea has passed and a new year has arrived (Korea time). What will the new year bring to the Korean Peninsula?

After the Yeonpyeong Island artillery incident, South Korea went on a near-war mode as it revived civilian air raid drill (regularly-occuring drills that were cancelled during the past decade when inter-Korea relations were warmer), held live-fire artillery exercise in the disputed area despite warnings from North Korea, and engaged in massive naval and joint military exercises as a show of force. China and Russia expressed their weariness on the U.S.'s show of force in the region and announced their own joint military exercises in the region.

Despite escalating military tensions and war hysteria, both sides have cooled down. North Korea blasted South Korea-U.S. maneuvers, but it did not retaliate further. South Korea's hawkish stance must have backfired as Pres. Lee Mying-bak's popularity is spiralling down and it is now calling for the revival of the six-party talks aimed at North Korea's nuclear disarmament. The Obama administration must have gotten some indirect assessment of North Korea's stance via Governor Bill Richardson's recent visit to Pyongyang. All these point to negotiated settlement as the only viable option towards peace settlement in the Korean Peninsula -- all concerned parties need to work on it in 2011.

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.

"A more effective US policy on North Korea"

Any observer can see that the US relations with North Korea is at a standstill (or stalemate), with no resolution of contentious issues in sight (the photo shows Amb. Stephen Bosworth, special envoy on North Korea, in Beijing). At this juncture, calls for stepped-up engagement policy with North Korea abound, as this article by John Lewis, professor emeritus at Stanford University and former advisor to the US government, attests.

"Invite North Korea to the Global Nuclear Security Summit"

From Foreign Policy in Focus. By Jae Jung Suh, an associate professor and director of Korean Studies at the School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.

North Korea fired hundreds of artillery shells into waters near the disputed western sea border with the South last week, and the South Korean military returned warning shots, heightening the already high tension on the peninsula. The rising tension came amidst recent signals from Pyongyang that it wanted to negotiate a peace treaty to formally end the Korean War. If peace negotiations began, Pyongyang could return to the Six Party Talks on ending its nuclear programs. So what's going on? Are we about to see another bout of military confrontation or another round of negotiations? MORE

[The satellite photo shows the exhaust trail of a North Korean rocket launch on April 5, 2009.]

Another Standoff in the Korean Peninsula Peace/Security Issue

Looks like another standoff in the peace/security issue in the Korean Peninsula: North Korea demanded the lifting of sanctions and proposed a negotiation for a peace treaty to officially end the Korean War as prerequisites for rejoining the six-party talks on nuclear disarment, for which the U.S. and allies rejected, countering that North Korea should participate in the six-party talks first. All these issues have been aired before, but the parties still cannot agree on the format and approach towards meaningful resolution.

The National Campaign to End the Korean War (based in North America) issued the following statement (on Jan. 12, 2010 in New York) in response to these developments:

“The Obama administration’s rejection of North Korea’s call for peace sends an alarming message to the most militarized regions in the world. It signals that the White House is unwilling to end a rare opportunity to finally end 60 years of confrontation and hostility. On July 27, 1953, the Korean War was halted by an armistice signed by North Korea and the United States with a promise within months to negotiate a permanent peace treaty. This peace treaty has yet to be realized.

“Washington’s reliance upon the six-party talks as a viable diplomatic step towards ending the Korean War is out of step with its original promise for directly engaging North Korea. ‘Ad-hoc arrangements like the six-party talks’ described by the Obama administration cannot leverage peace on the Korean peninsula. The ultimate responsibility for formally ending the Korean War with a permanent peace treaty exclusively falls upon the United States and North Korea. Direct talks and a peace treaty will position President Obama and Asian leaders to achieve nuclear disarmament on the Korean peninsula and region.

“We urge the Obama Administration to stand by its commitment to directly engage North Korea and to find a bilateral solution to this longstanding war. Now more than ever, the White House can finally bring peace to the millions who have suffered from this conflict.”

The New Year Brings Positive Signs

Judging from the New Year's messages from both North and South Korea, with conciliatory references to peace and renewed dialog, it looks like 2010 may bring some positive changes in inter-Korean relations and multilateral efforts at peace/security guarantees in the Northeast Asia. Happy New Year.

Time to Break the Impasse in Korean Peninsula Security Talks

OK, now that "ice-breaking" and "saving face" are done, with the much-anticipated US special envoy Amb. Stephen Bosworth's visit to Pyongyang (photo shows the Bosworth team in Seoul after the NK visit), can we move towards more concrete steps on North Korea's denuclearization and US-North Korea normalization issues? The visit resulted in vague references to agreements on "common grounds" and "positive" movement towards resumption of multilateral talks on denuclearization as well as the stalled four-party talks on replacing the Korean War Armistice to a permanent peace mechanism.

Boosting this somewhat optimistic mood are the signs that other related nations are also moving forward towards reconciliation, as the new Japanese administration is exploring a resumption of stalled talks with North Korea, and inter-Korean relations may see some sign of resuming as North Korea accepted South Korea's offer of anti-flu medicine to deal with an H1N1 flu outbreak in North Korea.

Perhaps these developments will help bring a mutually-satisfactory settlements in early 2010.

U.S. Special Envoy to Visit North Korea

After ten months in the office, it looks like Stephen Bosworth (photo), the U.S. special envoy for North Korea, will be actually going to North Korea for diret talks there. This comes after ten months of what seemed like a circumvention of the problem -- holding consultations with all the parties involved with the Six Party Talks with the exception of North Korea, which did not bring a breakthrough in the stalled process towards nuclear disarmament and security guarantees. It is hoped that the Bosworth trip to North Korea, and President Obama's Asia trip, will bring some tangible progress on these issues.

On a related matter, columnist John Feffer argues for a secret negotiations for a comprehensive agreement between the U.S. and North Korea, sans media coverage that may derail the process.

Women's Call for Peace in Northeast Asia

The 2009 Northeast Asian Women´s Peace Conference ("Negotiating Regional Peace, Reconciliation and Cooperation") took place on October 6, at the George Washington University campus in Washington, DC. The organizers stated that women's voices are important but have often gone unheard during the Six Party Talks and other deliberations on the future of the Korean Peninsula. This conference, in contrast, brought together a diverse group of Asian, Russian and American women speakers from civil society and government to address peace and security issues in Northeast Asia.

The conference provided a valuable and much-needed space for discussion of steps to reduce military tension and build peace in Northeast Asia and ways to realize UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which recognized "the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peace-building and stressing the importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security."

A key speaker of the South Korean delegation was former prime minister Han Myung-sook (photo above, from Yeonhap News), who stressed the need for the revival of the six party talks as well as bilateral negotiations aimed at peaceful settlement in Korea. The delegates also held meetings at the U.S. Congress and with women's organizations in the DC area (photo below).

South Korean Civil Society Leaders Participate in Forum at the US Congress

Leading representatives of South Korea´s civil society organizations participated in the Korea Peninsula Peace Forum at the U.S. Congress on Sept. 14, 2009, along with key U.S. politicians and scholars to share viewpoints on promoting a peaceful settlement in the Korean Peninsula. The Korea delegation was composed of Prof. Nak-chung Paik, "most influential" intellectual in South Korea and Co-Chair of Korea Peace Forum; Mr. Won-soon Park, a pioneer in Korea's civil society movement and Executive Director of the Hope Institute; Rev. Moon-Sook Lee, former General Secretary, Korea Church Women United and Mr. Jae Shik Oh, Executive Director, Asia Institute -- both of whom with extensive experiences with humanitarian aid programs with North Korea.

They were joined by the host Senator John Kerry (in writing), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Congressman Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, Chairman of the House Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment Subcommittee; Frank Jannuzi, Senior East Asia Specialist (Majority), Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Keith Luse, Senior Professional Staff Member (Minority), Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Joel Witt, former Agreed Framework Coordinator at the U.S. State Department; John Feffer, Co-Director of Foreign Policy in Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies; Scott Snyder, Director of the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy, the Asia Foundation; Karin Lee, Executive Director of the National Committee on North Korea, in panel discussions on U.S.-North Korea confidence-building prospects and the status of inter-Korea rapproachement.

The Korea delegation also participated in a seminar on North Korea policy at the Brookings Institution and held meetings in New York City and Los Angeles.