February, 25 2019, 11:00pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Kevin Martin, Peace Action, 301-537-8244 cell, kmartin@peace-action.org
Gabe Murphy, Peace Action, 510-501-3345 cell, gmurphy@peaceaction.org
Peace Action Applauds Legislation Calling for Peace Agreement to End the Korean War
WASHINGTON
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."
Peace Action is the United States' largest peace and disarmament organization with over 100,000 members and nearly 100 chapters in 34 states, works to achieve the abolition of nuclear weapons, promote government spending priorities that support human needs and encourage real security through international cooperation and human rights.
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