Source： globalresearch.ca


On July 27, 1953, Korean War hostilities were ended only temporarily by introducing the fragile Armistice Agreement which was signed by DRPK, China and USA/UN. However, that “temporary cessation” of the deadly military conflicts has not put an end to all hostilities as it was supposed to and as was clearly stated as its intent in the 1953 document. Instead, a situation has continued of the peaceful reunification of Korean peninsula being serially obstructed and with the DPRK put under continual siege and even serial threats of nuclear annihilation by the U.S. since November 1950.

The result has been that critical and scarce resources in both the southern and northern regions of Korea, resources needed to lift millions out of poverty in both the north and south, have been diverted from development into military and defense. This dangerous, unstable and development-damaging situation has been forcibly continued against the will of the great majority of over 80 million Korean populations in north, south and overseas.

The hostilities, past, present and intended for the future have been purposefully maintained on the Korean peninsula for several reasons: the military-industrial-complex interests of the U.S. and its allies; the prevention of the self-determined peaceful reunification of Korea under terms and conditions not dictated by the U.S.; the use of portions of Korea for bases and staging areas for imperial adventures with specific targets in mind such as China, Russia and other potential rivals both in Northeast Asia and the Eurasian continent; and so on.

Therefore, countless “manufactured crises” have purposefully maintained the DPRK-USA “semi-war status”. The crises have been unilaterally imposed against the much weaker party by the much stronger. The “crises made by U.S.” have fundamentally defined and maintained and structured a “forcibly divided” Korean Peninsula over the last 60 some years.

The unilaterally-imposed military confrontations have continued between the two most incomparable parties: the DPRK and the U.S. There can be no comparison. One side incomparably outweighs the other in everything in number, quality, quantity, and size of the territory and the population, especially the military continuing until this very day.

There has been also a unilaterally-employed global demonization campaign as “war propaganda” or “psychological warfare,” by “the only global superpower” against the incomparably much weaker side for several decades.

The human suffering that has resulted from the forceful division of the Korean people and from the continued economic blockade, military threats, political isolation, financial sanctions and siege against the DPRK cannot be easily measured or described. It is simply beyond description. Beyond imagination! The waste of human resources, ecological-environmental devastation by the over 60 years of ongoing US-led (so-called) “military drills” and the continued “nuclear war games,” and the Korean national wealth by the forcibly imposed division cannot be easily described or measured either.

Today, along with those numerous manufactured crises, the immeasurable sufferings, and the life of already-disrespected, -discarded and –dismantled fragile Armistice Agreement seems to be coming to an end.

In the last 4 months, the Korean peninsula, the Northeast Asia region and the whole world seem to have been thrown into a new reality, i.e., a real possibility of the first-ever, Nuclear War.

Such a war is now again deemed, as it was during the 1950-53 Korean War, a real possibility to most, if not all, Koreans in north, south and overseas. It must also seemed so to many Japanese and US military troops stationed in Korea, Japan, Guam, Hawaii, and other US military bases.

This is the very reason why tens of millions of Koreans from all ends in north, south and overseas, together with tens of millions of peace-loving peoples from around the world, in unison and in solidarity, call for Peace on the Korean peninsula and the region, not for Wars not only in the region but also anywhere around the world.

Therefore, WE the undersigned PEOPLE, from all ends, not only in the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia region but also in the whole globe, join with the tens of millions of Korean peoples in north, south and overseas to solemnly call for the following demands:

I.             The Armistice Agreement must be replaced by a Permanent Peace Treaty signed by those responsible parties such as DPRK, China and the US/UN-South Korea.

II.            All those deadly destructive Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) must be removed from the Korean peninsula and the Northeast Asia region once for all.

III.           The Asia-Pacific region must remain and be saved for a new future of a peacefully-coexisting and mutually co-prosperous region.

IV.        The Korean Peninsula, the Asia-Pacific region and indeed the whole world must not be manipulatively used for the sake of global warmongers, military industrial complexes and/or hegemonic muscle –wielding powers that are eager to continuously raise military tensions at the expense of peace, security and prosperity for all.

Victory to Peace not for War by Ending the Already Dismantled Armistice Agreement to Be Replaced by a Permanent Peace Treaty for the Korean Peninsula!

On behalf of the tens of millions of peace-loving Koreans in north, south and overseas, Mr. Oh, Jong Ryul and Mr. Lee, Chang Bok, the two Standing Senior Chairs of the largest-ever nationwide Anti-war Coalition in Seoul, Korea will present this document on May 18.