Friends,
Prevent Nuclear War – Maryland is working with members of
the Baltimore City Council to pass a Back From the Brink resolution. We
are seeking Baltimore City residents to lobby their City Councilmembers to
support the resolution. Please let me know if you are willing to lobby
your councilmember. The essence of the resolution is below.
Kagiso, Max
BE IT RESOLVED
that City Council, on behalf of the residents of _______ call
on the United States and our elected officials to join a global effort to
prevent nuclear war via the following actions:
• Renounce the option of using nuclear weapons first.
• End the president's sole, unchecked authority to launch a
nuclear attack.
• Take U.S. nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert.
• Cancel the plan to replace the entire U.S. arsenal with enhanced
weapons.
• Actively pursue a verifiable agreement among nuclear armed
states to eliminate
their nuclear arsenals.
Statement of Unity by Korean Americans and
Allies on the Historic Inter-Korean Summit and the Upcoming U.S.-North
Korea Summit
Since the historic April 27 summit between the
leaders of North and South Korea at Panmunjom, longstanding tensions and war
threats on the Korean peninsula have given way to the promise of peace and
reconciliation. Soon, another historic summit, between the United States and
North Korea, will take place in Singapore. The two parties, which not too long
ago were on the brink of war, will finally sit down to discuss a peaceful
settlement to the Korean War. All eyes of the world will be on this momentous
event, which could determine not only the fate of the Korean peninsula and
Northeast Asia but also the prospect of global peace.
We—Korean Americans who have long fought for peace and the
self-determined unification of the Korean peninsula, and allies who stand on
the side of peace and justice and share a critical stake in the struggle for
peace in Korea—wish to make clear our views on the recent inter-Korean summit
and the upcoming U.S.-North Korea summit.
1. We applaud the Panmunjom
Declaration for Peace, Prosperity, and Unification of the Korean Peninsula.
In the Panmunjom Declaration, the leaders of North and South Korea
“solemnly declared before the 80 million Korean people and the whole world that
there will be no more war on the Korean Peninsula and thus a new era of peace
has begun.” They also pledged to work together for independent unification.
The two leaders held hands as they crossed back and forth over the
military demarcation line, demonstrating that the arbitrary line no longer has
the power it once possessed as a symbol of division and confrontation. Should
the governments of North and South Korea as well as the 80 million Koreans on
the peninsula and the diaspora come together to implement the Panmunjom
Declaration, we can realize peace, prosperity, and unification of the Korean
Peninsula.
2. We welcome the U.S.-North Korea
summit.
We hope the scheduled U.S.-North Korea summit will end seven
decades of hostile relations between the United States and North Korea and
usher in a new era of peace—on the Korean Peninsula, in Northeast Asia as well
as for the rest of the world.
We recommend the following:
1) The United States and North Korea should agree to denuclearize
the Korean Peninsula and faithfully carry out the agreement.
In the Panmunjom Declaration, North and South Korea “confirmed the
common goal of realizing, through complete denuclearization, a nuclear-free
Korean Peninsula.” Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula means not only
eliminating North Korea’s nuclear weapons but also denuclearizing the land,
air, and seas of the entire peninsula. This is not North Korea’s obligation
alone. South Korea and the United States, which has in the past introduced and
deployed close to one thousand tactical nuclear weapons in the southern half of
the peninsula, also need to take concrete steps to create a nuclear-free
peninsula.
The plan to “denuclearize the Korean peninsula” is clearly
outlined in the following past agreements:
- The 1992 Joint Declaration of South and North Korea on
the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula;
- The 1994 Agreed Framework between the USA and DPRK; and
- The 2005 Joint Statement of the Fourth Round of the Six
Party Talks.
In the 2005 Joint Statement of the Six Party Talks, North Korea
“committed to abandoning all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs,”
while the United States “affirmed that it has no nuclear weapons on the Korean
Peninsula and has no intention to attack or invade the DPRK with nuclear or
conventional weapons,” and South Korea “reaffirmed its commitment not to
receive or deploy nuclear weapons in accordance with the 1992 Joint Declaration
of the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, while affirming that there
exist no nuclear weapons within its territory.”
In keeping with the recent inter-Korean summit, the U.S.-North
Korea summit should produce an agreement for the “complete denuclearization of
the Korean Peninsula” and ban the testing, production, reception, possession,
storage, stationing, and/or use of nuclear weapons on the entire Korean
Peninsula. Moreover, the United States should stop all military action and
exercises that deploy or introduce its strategic assets on the Korean Peninsula
and abolish its nuclear umbrella over South Korea.
Genuine peace on the Korean peninsula, which has housed nuclear
weapons in both the North and the South and has been the site of acute military
tensions for decades, should set a historic precedent and lead to global
nuclear disarmament. Starting with the United States, all nuclear powers should
take concrete steps to create a nuclear-free world.
2) A peace treaty is necessary for a lasting peace system on the
Korean Peninsula.
The Panmunjom Declaration states, “During this year that marks the
65th anniversary of the Armistice, South and North Korea agreed to actively
pursue trilateral meetings involving the two Koreas and the United States, or
quadrilateral meetings involving the two Koreas, the United States and China
with a view to declaring an end to the War, turning the armistice into a peace
treaty, and establishing a permanent and solid peace regime.”
After the Korean War, the United States and North Korea signed an
armistice that established a highly unstable system that has been at the root
of all subsequent war threats on the Korean Peninsula. It’s time to declare an
end to the Korean War and replace the armistice with a peace treaty to build a
stable and lasting peace system on the Korean Peninsula. Only a peace treaty
will prevent further threats of nuclear and conventional war on the Korean
Peninsula.
The United States and North Korea should take immediate mutual
steps to prevent military conflict and alleviate tensions. They should
establish and maintain a military hotline and communications channel and halt
all military exercises and other provocative actions. The United States should
withdraw the THAAD missile defense system in South Korea. And in step with
North and South Korea, which have agreed to “carry out disarmament in a phased
manner” in the Panmunjom Declaration, U.S. Forces in Korea should take
corresponding measures to reduce its troops.
3) The United States and North Korea should end hostilities and
normalize relations.
The 2000 US-DPRK Joint Communique states, “Recognizing that
improving ties is a natural goal in relations among states and that better
relations would benefit both nations in the 21st century while helping ensure peace
and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the Asia-Pacific region, the U.S.
and the D.P.R.K. sides stated that they are prepared to undertake a new
direction in their relations.”
After agreeing to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and replace
the armistice with a peace treaty, the United States and North Korea should
begin talks to establish normal relations. As they did in the 2000 Joint
Communique, the United States and North Korea should reaffirm “principles of
respect for each other’s sovereignty and non-interference in each other’s
internal affairs” and a “commitment to make every effort in the future to build
a new relationship free from past enmity.” The United States and North Korea
should normalize relations and promote civilian exchanges in the areas of
economy, culture, science, education, sports, and travel to foster mutual
understanding between the peoples of both countries.
Above all, the United States needs to abolish its seven-decade
policy of hostility and sanctions that isolate North Korea. It should lift all
sanctions tied to North Korea’s nuclear program, take North Korea off the list
of state sponsors of terrorism, and unfreeze North Korea’s assets. It should
allow U.S. citizens to freely travel to North Korea. The United States and
North Korea should also cooperate to recover the remains of U.S. servicemen in
North Korea from the time of the Korean War as a step to addressing unresolved
humanitarian issues and ending hostile relations.
3. We urge Washington’s political
leaders to put aside party politics for peace.
Past negotiations between the United States and North Korea have
yielded meaningful moments of cooperation. There have been times when both
sides made significant compromises with the shared goal of overcoming past
hostilities and moving toward normalizing relations. They have produced
outstanding agreements—the 1993 DPRK-U.S. Joint Statement, the 1994 Agreed
Framework, the 2000 U.S.-DPRK Joint Communique, and the 2005 Joint Declaration
of the Six Party Talks—that outline a path for resolving the nuclear crisis on
the Korean Peninsula, creating a lasting peace system, and normalizing
relations between the two countries.
However, none of these agreements were implemented. As a result,
mistrust between the United States and North Korea only deepened and ultimately
led us to the brink of nuclear war. With each change in administration in the
United States, hard-won agreements made by the previous administration were
essentially scrapped as the incoming administration adopted a default
anti-North Korea posture. In light of this history, we have concerns about
whether an agreement produced by the upcoming U.S.-North Korea summit will
actually be honored by the current and future administrations. Trump’s
withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal underscores this concern.
The Trump administration should approach the upcoming summit with
North Korea with sincerity and a commitment to carrying out whatever agreement
is reached. We also urge Congress to put aside partisan interests in the historic
interest of achieving peace in Korea and the world. We urge Congress to resolve
to support the Panmunjom Declaration between North and South Korea and the
upcoming U.S.-North Korea summit.
4. We stand with all who struggle
for a just and peaceful world.
The actions of the Trump and previous administrations have been
detrimental to peace in the world. The United States is responsible for endless
war in Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen, bloodshed in Gaza, and escalating tension
with Iran. While it pours billions of dollars into waging wars and maintaining
troops abroad, its people face widespread unemployment and austerity programs
that cut them off from decent education, healthcare and housing. U.S.
militarism abroad has also led to increased militarization of the police and
state-sanctioned violence against communities of color and gender
non-conforming people at home.
We stand with people of conscience everywhere who defend peace,
self-determination, and justice. It is our hope that the Korean Peninsula–once
a land of strife, brutalized by over a century of colonization, division and
war–will become a source of strength and inspiration for all as a beacon for
peace, reconciliation, and unification in the twenty-first century.
Signed,
Korean American Organizations (In
alphabetical order)
615 U.S. Midwest Committee (6. 15 공동선언실천 미국중부위원회)
615 U.S. New York Committee (6.15 공동선언실천 뉴욕지역위원회)
615 U.S. West Coast Committee (6.15 공동선언실천 미서부위원회)
Action One Korea (AOK)
Channing and Popai Liem Education Foundation (임창영 ·이보배 교육재단)
Citizen for Equality, Peace And Liberation (평등평화해방)
Citizens Fighting for Social Justice (정상추 네트워크)
Coalition of Koreans in America (미주희망연대)
Deoham Korean American Community Church (시카고 더함교회)
Eclipse Rising
Fight For Voter’s Rights (유권자 권리를 소중히 여기는 사람들의 모임)
Hella Organized Bay Area Koreans (호박)
Hope Coalition of New York (희망세상 뉴욕모임)
Houston Sewol HAMBI (휴스턴 세월호 함께 맞는 비)
Korean American Alliance for Peace on the Korean Peninsula (한반도 평화를 위한 미주동포연대)
Korea Culture and Heritage Society of New York (민족문제연구소 뉴욕지부)
Korea is One (우리는 하나)
Korea Policy Institute (코리아정책연구소)
Korean American National Coordinating Council (재미동포전국연합회)
Korean American Women Veterans Association (한국계 여성 제대 군인 모임)
Korean Americans for Social Justice – Chicago (시카고 한인 민주연대)
Korean Peace Alliance (진보의 벗)
Minjung Solidarity of New York (민중당 뉴욕연대)
NANUM Corean Cultural Center (우리문화나눔회)
National Association of Korean Americans (미주동포전국협회)
National Institute of Hahm Seokhon Philosophy, DC, Indianapolis,
NY, Hahm Seokhon Peace Center (함석헌사상연구회)
Network for Peace and Unification in USA (평화와 통일을 위한 연대)
NY/NJ People in Solidarity with the Family of the Sewol Ferry;
S.P. Ring New Jersey (뉴욕 뉴저지 세월호를 잊지않는 사람들의 모임)
Nodutdol for Korean Community Development (노둣돌)
One Corea Now
One Heart for Justice (샌프란시스코 공감)
Out of My Ultari Now (소식지 ‘내 울타리 밖에서는 지금’)
Pan-Korean Alliance for Reunification in USA (조국통일범민족연합 재미본부)
Peace21.org (내일을 여는 사람들)
Peace and Unification Action of Boston (한반도의 평화와 통일을 위한 보스턴 동포들의 행동)
Rohjjang Lovers, San Francisco (로짱러버스)
Seattle Evergreen Coalition (시애틀 늘푸른연대)
SoCal Organized Oppression-Breaking Anti-Imperialist Koreans (수박)
Center for the Study of Korean Christianity (한국기독교연구소, 시카고)
U.S. Support Committee for Korean Prisoners of Conscience (미주 양심수후원회)
Woori Madang, Chicago (우리마당)
World for People, Los Angeles (엘에이 사람사는 세상)
Young Korean Academy of New York (미주 흥사단 뉴욕지부)
녹두모임(필라델피아)
코네티컷 세사모
콜로라도 세월호 모임
Other Korean Diaspora Organizations
416 Global Network Toronto (세월호를 기억하는 토론토 사람들)
416 Paris (416 해외연대파리)
deCrypt, UK (디크립트–영국)
Ireland Candlelight Action (아일랜드 촛불행동)
Jakarta Candle Action (자카르타 촛불행동)
Korean Minjung Cultur e.V, Europe (한국민중문화모임–유럽)
Korean New Zealanders for a Better Future (더 좋은 세상 뉴질랜드 한인모임)
National Institute of Hahm Seokhon Philosophy, London, UK
headquarters (함석헌사상연구회– 영국대표부)
Overseas Supporters of Korean Schools in Japan (해외 조선학교 지킴이)
Remembering Sewol, UK
Remembering Sewol Germany (NRW) (세월호를 기억하는 재독 NRW 모임)
Remembering Sewol Sydney (416 세월호를 기억하는 시드니 행동)
Sasase Ottawa (사람사는 세상 오타와)
Solidarity of Korean People in Europe (한민족유럽연대)
S.P.Ring Solidarity (스프링세계시민연대)
Vienna Culture Factory (비엔나 문화 제작소)
Endorsing Individuals
Reverend Jesse Jackson, Civil Rights Leader and Founder of
Rainbow/PUSH
Professor Noam Chomsky, University of Arizona and Massachusetts
Institute of Technology
Jill Stein, Green Party presidential nominee 2012, 2016
Endorsing U.S. Organizations (In
alphabetical order)
About Face: Veterans Against the War
Alliance of Scholars Concerned about Korea
American Friends Service Committee
ANSWER Coalition
Anti-War Committee, Minnesota
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), Seattle Chapter
Bayan USA
Boston College Center for Human Rights and International Justice
Brandywine Peace Community, Philadelphia PA
Broome Tioga Green Party
Catholic Worker
Chelsea Uniting Against the War, Chelsea Massachusetts
Coalition for Peace Action
CODEPINK
Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism
Dallas Peace and Justice Center
End the Wars Committee of Peace Action Wisconsin
Environmentalists Against War
Fellowship of Reconciliation
Freedom Forward
Friends of Iran’s Art and Culture
Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space
Global Peace Forum
Granny Peace Brigade, New York
Grassroots Global Justice
Greater Boston Chapter of the Green-Rainbow Party
Hawai’i Peace and Justice
Institute for 21st Century International Relations
International Action Center
International League of People’s Struggles, US
Justice for Muslims Collective
Knowdrones.com
Korean Quarterly
Legacy of Equality, Leadership and Organizing (LELO)
Martín-Baró Fund for Mental Health and Human Rights
Massachusetts Peace Action
Mid-Missouri Fellowship of Reconciliation
Military Families Speak Out
New Jersey Peace Action
Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility
Peace Action
Peace Action Maine
Peace Action Manhattan
Peace Action New York State
Peace Action San Mateo County
Peace and Justice Center of Eastern Maine
Peace and Justice Committee of Uptown Progressive Action, New York
NY
Peace and Social Concerns Committee, Central Philadelphia
(Quakers)
Peaceworkers, San Francisco CA
PeaceWorks of Greater Brunswick, Maine
Philadelphia Committee for Peace and Justice in Asia and the
Pacific
Popular Resistance
Presbyterian Church USA
Presbyterian Peace Network for Korea
Progressive Democrats of America, San Francisco Chapter
Project South
RootsAction.org
September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
Show Up! America
United for Justice with Peace, Boston
United for Peace and Justice
Upstate New York Drone Action
US Labor Against War
US Peace Council
Veterans For Peace
Veterans For Peace / Chapter 021 (Northern New Jersey)
War Prevention Initiative
War Resisters League
Western States Legal Foundation
Win Without War
Women Against Military Madness
Women Cross DMZ
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Corvallis,
Oregon branch
Workers World Party
World BEYOND War
Young Greens of UMass Boston
Endorsing International Organizations (In
alphabetical order)
Asia-Wide Campaign against U.S.-Japanese Domination and Aggression
of Asia, Japan
Association for Protection of Democratic Rights, India
Association of Second Generation of A-bomb Survivors, Japan
Canadian Voice of Women for Peace
Coop Anti-War Cafe Berlin, Heinrich Buecker, Germany
Global Rights of Peaceful People, Italy, Spain, Germany,
Netherlands, Ireland, Ukraine
Humanitarian Battalion of Ireland and UK
Hystorical and Cultural Center Mobius, Ireland
Just Peace Committee, Vancouver, Canada
Military Bases and Women Network, Japan
New Zealand DPRK Society
People Against War Network, Ireland – UK
Roudousya Kyoutou, Japan
Science for Peace, Canada
Slobodan Milosevic International Committee, Hungary, Russia, U.S.,
Germany
Solidarity Labor Union, Yamaguchi, Japan
Yamaguchi City People to Accomplish the Constitution of Japan
More Endorsing Individuals (In alphabetical order
by last name)
Dr. Tim Anderson, University of Sydney, Hands off Independent
Korea (DPRK), Australia
Máire Úna Ní Bheaglaoich, People’s Movement and Peace and
Neutrality Alliance
Leo Chang, Solidarity Committee for Democracy and Peace in Korea
Cindy Domingo, US Women and Cuba Collaboration
Hassan El-Tayyab, Policy and Organizing Director of Chicago Area
Peace Action
David Gibson, Peacehome Campaigns
June and John Kelly, independent researchers and journalists
(Ireland)
Gaseul Jee, Overseas Supporters of Korean Schools in Japan
Susan Lee, Justice for Sewol victims activist and artist
(Australia)
Andrew Leong, JD, Associate Professor, Philosophy Department,
UMass Boston
Joe Lombardo, Co-coordinator, United National Antiwar Coalition
Brinton Lykes, Ph.D., Professor of Community-Cultural Psychology,
Boston College
Robyn Magalit Rodriguez, National Alliance for Filipino Concerns
Koohan Paik, International Forum on Globalization
Dr. Han S Park, President of Reuniting Families, Inc.
Arnie Saiki, Moana Nui Action Alliance
Rudy Simons, Peace Action Michigan, Korean War U.S. Army veteran
Aaron Tovish, Executive Director, Zona Libre
Donations can be sent
to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD
21218. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their
lives." Eugene Victor Debs
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