[Simone Chun, April 10] Global citizen's campaign for diplomacy in the Korean peninsula update! (Fwd)

[아름드리 나무]

Dear Friend,

Diplomacy and foreign affair is no longer an exclusive domain of states but belong to global citizen.  The US Secretary of State Kerry will visit South Korea this week (http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90777/8201824.htm)   and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon meet with President Obama. 

Please join the global citizen's appeal for diplomacy in the Korean peninsula. Together we can win this battle of threat, misunderstanding, misinformation, indifference, apathy, and war vs. diplomacy, reason, truth, dialogue, honor, courage and peace.  Make make your voice heard by emailing the following simple appeal to: President Obama, president@whitehouse.gov

Copy your message to: 

South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, president@president.go.kr

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, ecu@un.org

 .......................

Honorable Secretary of State John F. Kerry:

As you are aware, North Korea has responded to the annual US-ROK military exercises by withdrawing from the armistice accords of 1953 and preparing for another ballistic missile test. 

With tensions in the Korean peninsula at an all-time high, it is important to note that the North Korean government’s deplorably aggressive behavior is, in terms of Korea's cultural and political heritage, an aberrational consequence of historical circumstance that can in fact be corrected. The Korean nation, during its more than 5000 years of history, has never resorted to aggression against its neighbors, but has rather historically maintained a path of peaceful coexistence--a path from which it need not stray if the United States has the will to implement rational and concerted diplomatic efforts

I respectfully ask that you work to reduce the tensions in the Korean peninsula by offering concrete diplomatic solutions to the current crisis, such as:

(a) Urging President Obama fulfill his campaign to hold a dialog with North Korea.

(b) Supporting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon's diplomatic initiatives for defusing the current crisis

(c) Persuading South Korean President Park Geun-Hye to fulfill her campaign pledge to shift away from her predecessor's failed hardline stance, and toward a policy of dialog and engagement with the North.

Great nations have the foresight and courage to bring others together even in times of animosity, and to create opportunities for all nations to realize their true potential. Koreans recall the days when America showed such courage, and exemplified a visionary leadership that inspired the world. John F. Kennedy personified such leadership with his famous expression‎ of solidarity with the German people at the height of the Cold War. Much like the Germans on either side of the Iron Curtain, the people of the two Koreas, while nominally enemies, share a common identity, history, and destiny. I hope that the United States can work to bring about a time when all Koreans can say as one , “I am free a citizen of Seoul, of Pyongyang, of Asia, and of the world."

With respect,

......

References

Call for diplomacy

The Cuban Missile Crisis Revisited—This Time in Korea by George Katsiaficas

“If we allow Kim Jong Un to be demonized while a major war breaks out, hundreds of thousands of people will perish in its first hours—no matter who is to blame. It is not too late for the Obama administration to change course and find a peaceful solution to this crisis—if that is what they want to do.”

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_editorial/581975.html

North Korea wants normalization of diplomacy with the United States

http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/03/experts_tough_response_just_what_n_korea_needs

Think Again BY DAVID KANG, VICTOR CHA

“North Korea is a lot more dangerous than you think, but that doesn't mean that Kim Jong Un is insane.”

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/03/25/think_again_north_korea

Think Again: Korean Crisis BY DAVID KANG, VICTOR CHA

“North Korea is not crazy, near collapse, nor about to start a war. But it is dangerous, not to mention dangerously misunderstood. Defusing the threat that North Korea poses to its neighbors and the world will require less bluster, more patience, and a willingness on the part of the United States to probe and understand the true sources of the North's conduct.”

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2003/05/01/think_again_the_korea_crisis

Countering North Korean Brinkmanship by Scott Snyder

http://blogs.cfr.org/asia/2013/03/29/countering-north-korean-brinkmanship/#cid=soc-twitter-at-blogs-countering_north_korean_brinkm-032913

“… there is a need for the United States and South Korea to offer some clear diplomatic gestures of reassurance toward the North that can help the North Koreans climb down, calm down, and “change course.”

Secretary-General's remarks to press following visit to the Vatican

"I have spoken to the Chinese leadership and I am going to discuss this matter with President [Barack] Obama on Thursday, the day after tomorrow. And I will continue to work as the Secretary-General, but at the same time, those countries who would have the influence will do the same, continuously, first of all, to calm down the tension and initiate dialogue."

http://www.un.org/sg/offthecuff/index.asp?nid=2781

Japan Times, North Korea tensions near boiling point

"Scott Snyder, a senior fellow for Korea studies with the Council on Foreign Relations, suggested that the U.S., having delivered its message loud and clear, should now provide Kim with a way out. “There is a need for the United States and South Korea to offer some clear diplomatic gestures of reassurance toward the North that can help the North Koreans climb down, calm down, and change course,” Snyder said."

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/03/31/asia-pacific/north-korea-tensions-near-boiling-point/#.UWVOe3AnsUV

Mainstream U.S. media's fueling war in the Korean peninsula

New York Times, North Korea Warns It Is on Brink of Nuclear War With South

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/10/world/asia/south-korean-leader-seeks-to-end-vicious-cycle-with-north.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

CNN, Northeast Asia on edge ahead of possible North Korean missile test

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/10/world/asia/koreas-tensions/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

CNN, How North Korea would attack the South

http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2013/04/05/ac-foreman-spider-marks-north-korea.cnn#/video/bestoftv/2013/04/05/ac-foreman-spider-marks-north-korea.cnn

 (Sent from Simone Chun)