With North Korea Talks Within Reach, Diplomacy Needs Defending

 In North Korea, Trump Administration

Washington, D.C. — January 4, 2018 — In response to President Trump’s endorsement of planned talks between North and South Korea, and the U.S. agreeing to a delay in joint military exercises with South Korea, Jon Rainwater, Executive Director of Peace Action, released the following statement:

“This isn’t the first time sports have provided a diplomatic opening. The Olympics provide a perfect rationale for a delay in annual joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises. That pause in turn sets the table for ongoing diplomacy. It’s a relief to see President Trump embrace this diplomatic opportunity after the last few days of over-the-top tweeted provocations.

“An increase in communications with North Korea should be conscientiously nurtured like the first winter shoots of a fragile plant. Sadly, this diplomatic opening has already been dismissed as a North Korean ‘trap.’ If initial North-to-South talks lead to a multilateral and sustained diplomatic endeavour, diplomacy may come under even stronger attacks from hawks and hardliners in the U.S. and North Korea. Proponents of a peaceful solution, whether in the administration, in Congress, or in towns and cities across the nation, will have to make their voices heard. Securing a successful nuclear agreement with Iran couldn’t have happened without the active support of the American people. That public groundswell in favor of diplomacy is needed once again.”

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Founded in 1957, Peace Action (formerly SANE/Freeze), the United States’ largest peace and disarmament organization, with over 100,000 paid members and nearly 100 chapters in 36 states, works to abolish nuclear weapons, promote government spending priorities that support human needs, encourage real security through international cooperation and human rights and support nonmilitary solutions to international conflicts. The public may learn more and take action at http://www.PeaceAction.org.

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