National Mobilization to Call for Peace on the 70th Anniversary of the Korean Armistice 

Posted in: Press Releases

 

Media Contact: Jungwon Kim jungwon@womencrossdmz.org 917-547-8363

Korea peace advocates from across the United States will convene in Washington, D.C., on July 26-28, 2023, to call on President Biden and Congress to support a formal peace agreement with North Korea

Washington, D.C. — With tensions rising dangerously on the Korean Peninsula — including the U.S. and South Korea holding the largest ever live-fire drills and a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine arriving in South Korean waters a day after North Korea resumed missile tests — hundreds of Korea peace advocates from across the country will gather in the nation’s capital on the 70th anniversary of the Korean Armistice for Korea Peace Action: National Mobilization to End the Korean War, July 26-28, 2023. The three-day convening in Washington, D.C., is being organized by Women Cross DMZ and the Korea Peace Now! Grassroots Network and a broad coalition of peace advocates, humanitarian aid groups, and organizations representing veterans, POW-MIAs, faith traditions, and Korean Americans whose families remain divided by the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that bisects the peninsula. This action will coincide with similar peace mobilizations in South Korea, organized by our Korea peace partners there.  

Organizers have planned a compelling program of events and speakers to showcase growing momentum for a peace-first approach to North Korea diplomacy among Congress, civil society, geopolitical and military experts and scientists. Many experts agree this approach is critical to safely addressing the world’s most urgent risk of nuclear conflict: the Korean Peninsula. One of the primary goals of the convening is to mobilize support for the Peace on the Korean Peninsula Act (H.R. 1369), which calls for a peace agreement with North Korea and has support from nearly 30 Members of Congress. The convening will include:

• July 27 at 9AM: A congressional press briefing with US members of Congress and Korea peace champions at the House Triangle;
• July 27 from 1-3 PM: A participatory, community grief ceremony featuring renowned Korean American performance artist Dohee Lee and author Joseph Han, author of the acclaimed novel Nuclear Family;
• July 27 from 5-6PM: A rally at Lafayette Park with Women Cross DMZ Executive Director Christine Ahn, TikTok creator Nick Cho (“Your Korean Dad”), and other prominent Korea peace supporters;
• July 27 from 6-7PM: March
• July 27 from 7-8PM: Vigil
• July 28 from 9AM-3PM: conference at George Washington University featuring renowned Korea scholars and peace strategists:
  • Siegfried Hecker, Stanford University nuclear scientist
  • Kee Park (Harvard Medical School faculty, Director of the North Korea Program at the Korean American Medical Association)
  • Joy Gebhart, member of a divided family, humanitarian and peace activist
  • Lt. Gen. Dan Leaf, retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant general, former deputy commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, and Korean War veteran
  • Bruce Cumings, University of Chicago Korea scholar
  • Jennifer Deibert, DPRK program director at the American Friends Service Committee

Korea peace advocates have made significant strides in challenging the mainstream narrative about the “Forgotten War,” as it is often referred to in U.S. history textbooks. That war — which killed 4 million people in just three years, mostly civilians — remains the defining trauma of the Korean people, both on the peninsula and in the diaspora. Most Americans don’t realize that the Korean War never technically ended, or that the Korean War is the longest-running overseas U.S. military conflict. 

The broad coalition of organizations involved in this mobilization are calling for a permanent peace agreement between the United States and North Korea—the only two parties to the war that have not declared peace or normalized relations—to replace the 70-year armistice. The current U.S. approach toward North Korea, defined by hostility and isolation, has failed to achieve positive outcomes and has only prolonged continuing tensions and hostilities between the two parties. This has resulting in the extreme militarization of the Korean Peninsula and continued division of families. 

Geopolitical and military experts agree that an official end to the Korean War would reduce tensions and build confidence, providing the foundation upon which to more effectively engage on issues such as denuclearization and improved human rights. It would be a step toward shifting resources away from endless wars and toward more basic human needs at home, including housing, healthcare, food security, and climate action.

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QUOTES FROM EXPERTS AND COALITION MEMBERS

“As a two-war combat veteran who served four years in the Republic of Korea and as former Deputy Commander and Acting Commander of U.S. Pacific Command, I believe Congress must act now to push for the end of America’s longest war, reduce the risk of a nuclear catastrophe, and set the conditions through peace for addressing denuclearization and human rights.” ~ 3-star Lt. Gen. Dan Leaf, former commander of the Indo-Pacific 

“I came away from the war realizing that war is not the answer. I saw myself in my enemy….In connection with this anniversary, I am appealing to all parties to finally end the lingering U.S. war in Korea. The ROK (South Korea), the DPRK (North Korea), and the United States should take steps that would serve the mutual interests of the Korean and American peoples who strongly desire ‘permanent peace and friendship’ between the two nations.”  ~ John (“Jack”) Doxey, 92, U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War and member of Veterans for Peace

“As a peace-loving organization of Korean-Americans, we demand a peace treaty. Seventy years of war is enough! Secondly, we want a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. Thirdly, the joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea must be contained. Finally, we call on the U.S. government to stop spending so much on the military and allocate more resources for economic recovery and other safety nets for all.” ~ Yu Soung Moon, president of the Korean American Peace Fund

“I was stationed in South Korea in the U.S. Army in 1980 at Camp Humphreys when it was just big, not the mega-base it is now. I knew even then, as a largely ignorant 20-something, that we tens of thousands of troops were there as occupiers to maintain hegemony and threats to China, with absolutely nothing to do with protecting either Koreans or the United States.”  ~ Ellen Barfield, veteran and member of Korea Peace Now! Grassroots Network, Washington, D.C., chapter

“The unended war continues to have profound impacts on people living on the Korean Peninsula and U.S. policy toward the DPRK, hindering cooperation and people-to-people exchange on multiple levels. The human cost of the war is rising with each decade that passes—families do not have the opportunity to reunite, servicemembers from the war are still missing, and civil society engagement with DPRK partners is hindered by a continued state of war. In the experience of the American Friends Service Committee, dialogue and people-to-people exchange are necessary to work toward peaceful resolutions to conflict. Ending the war will open up new opportunities to reimagine relationships and forge a new path forward based on mutual thriving and human security.” ~ Jennifer Deibert, DPRK Program Director of the American Friends Service Committee 

“In 2015 when I joined Christine Ahn and a group of women crossing the DMZ, I was inspired by the opportunity to put our bodies where our hopes are: the reunification of families and a nation still divided by the Korean war of more than seventy years ago.  We felt that it was important to do with our physical selves what we hope could be done politically.  Engagement and dialogue are way more likely to achieve the kinds of goals we want than isolation and silence.  Women Cross DMZ is still leading the movement to end America’s longest war. Join us!”  ~ Gloria Steinem

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Korea Peace Action: National Mobilization to End the Korean War is co-convened by a national coalition of organizations working for peace on the Korean Peninsula:

National Association of Korean Americans

American Friends Service Committee

Korea Peace Now! Grassroots Network

Mennonite Central Committee

Minkwon Center for Community Action

National Korean American Service & Education Consortium

Veterans for Peace

Women Cross DMZ

The co-convenors are grateful to the following co-sponsoring organizations:

Coalition of Koreans in America

Code Pink

Good Friends USA

Grassroots Global Justice Alliance

Gyopo

Hampton Institute

Han Pan Korean American Cultural Center

Hawai’i Peace and Justice

June 15 U.S. Committee for Reunification of Korea

Korean American National Coordinating Council

Korea Policy Institute

Madre

Nodutdol

Peace Action

Peace Action New York State

Peace Committee of the Korean Association of the United Methodist Church

Presbyterian Church of USA

Quincy Institute

President of Rotary Club of Global Impact

Rotary Satellite Club of International Peace World, District 5000

Women Against Military Madness (Minnesota)

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