Peace Agreement with North Korea Is in US “Interest,” Says U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
January 28, 2020
Posted in: Press Releases
For immediate release
January 28, 2020
Washington, DC—A long-term peace agreement with North Korea is “desirable” and in the “interest” of the U.S. Department of Defense, John C. Rood, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, said in a hearing of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee today.
Rood also said the 1953 Armistice Agreement was “not intended to survive decade after decade after decade.”
“It’s not a long-term peace agreement and it is something that the ROK government has sought and previous administrations and the present administration in the United States would like to see a long-term peace agreement with North Korea,” Rood said. “I think our view has been that we have sought to negotiate those types of activities with the North Koreans, and this would be another subject of the negotiations that could be worked out with the North.” (Watch the full video of the hearing here. Remarks begin at 1:53:00)
Rood made the comments in response to a question from Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who asked, “is there any harm in having a formal peace declaration with North Korea especially considering President Moon and others in South Korea want this and they have the biggest risk of action from North Korea?”
Last July, Khanna introduced an amendment as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 declaring that diplomacy is essential with North Korea and that an end to the Korean War should be pursued. The Act was approved by Congress in December. Last year, Khanna also introduced House Resolution 152, which calls for a formal end to the Korean War and has 41 co-sponsors so far.
“Rood’s comments today acknowledge that negotiating a peace agreement serves the security interests of both Americans and Koreans,” said Catherine Killough, the DC-based Advocacy and Leadership Coordinator of Women Cross DMZ, a group that advocates for peace on the Korean Peninsula. “But in order to get to peace, the US must take steps to build trust and reduce tensions, such as declaring an official end to the Korean War, lifting sanctions that harm civilians, and normalizing relations.”
According to a poll conducted last year by Data for Progress and YouGov, 67 percent of Americans across political affiliations support negotiating a peace agreement with North Korea. Support is highest among Republicans (76%), followed by Independents/Others (64%) and Democrats (63%).
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