Peace Action Applauds Legislation Calling for Peace Agreement to End the Korean War

 In Congress, Korea, North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, Trump Administration

Washington, D.C. — February 26, 2019 — In response to Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) introducing legislation to support diplomacy and the pursuit of peace on the Korean Peninsula, Kevin Martin, President of Peace Action and Coordinator of the Korea Peace Network, released the following statement:

“This legislation offers a common sense vision for achieving peace and advancing nuclear disarmament on the Korean Peninsula that all members of Congress should be able to get behind. With its timely introduction on the eve of the second summit meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong-un, this bill offers a blueprint for diplomacy that rightly acknowledges that real progress cannot be made in negotiations without reciprocal steps and confidence-building measures by all parties at the table.

“Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and the original cosponsors of this bill are wisely rising above the fraught politics of Washington D.C. to express their unequivocal support for the diplomatic process, while also holding the administration accountable to Congress by requesting a plan to achieve lasting peace and nuclear disarmament on the Korean Peninsula.

“By supporting a declaration of the end of the Korean War and calling for a formal peace agreement to officially end the war, this legislation represents an emerging understanding in Congress that denuclearization cannot be achieved without peace. Establishing a permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula is critical to removing North Korea’s rationale for maintaining its nuclear arsenal, which it sees as a deterrent against invasion by countries that it is still technically at war with. Declaring an end to the war or signing a formal peace agreement are not concessions, they are mutually beneficial steps towards reducing the risk of conflict and advancing the cause of nuclear disarmament.”

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Original cosponsors of the bill include Representatives Pramila Jayapal, Mark Pocan, Barbara Lee, Deb Haaland, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Jan Schakowsky, Raúl Grijalva, Bobby Rush, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Tulsi Gabbard, Adriano Espaillat, Andy Kim, Rashida Tlaib, Judy Chu, José Serrano, and Gwen Moore.

The resolution is endorsed by organizations including the National Association of Korean Americans, Ploughshares Fund, Women Cross DMZ, Korean Americans in Action, United Methodist Church – Global Ministries, Win Without War, Peace Action, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), Just Foreign Policy, Beyond the Bomb, and Physicians for Social Responsibility.

The Korea Peace Network is a coalition comprised of peace, social justice, human rights, faith, veterans and Korean-American groups and individuals advocating peace on the Korean Peninsula. The Korea Peace Network will hold its 4th annual Advocacy Days in Washington D.C. from March 13-14 to lobby Congress in support of diplomacy and the pursuit of peace on the Korean Peninsula.

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 www.PeaceAction.org.

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