International Symposium for Peace in Korea

A Letter from Kurt Esslinger and Hyeyoung Lee, serving in Korea

Fall 2023

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Dear friends,

Last month, I helped to craft a transcript for a video message sent by a former commanding officer in the U.S. military. Recorded messages always prove tricky for my Korean colleagues as they try to understand spoken English so they can put it into subtitles and create a translated version in Korean. While I helped to clarify some of the words that got muffled in the recording, I found this retired commander’s message interesting! This was Former Deputy Commander of U.S. Pacific Command and retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General Dan Leaf. In particular, he talked about being involved in potential nuclear strikes as a pilot in the Air Force and later having responsibility for the overseas storage of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons. He suggested that his experience with nuclear weapons leads him to consider the need to end the state of war on the Korean Peninsula all the more urgent. He says, “The bottom line is, as I said, I have spent a lot of time thinking about the unthinkable, about nuclear war, and I know it well. And because I know it well, I know the risk here well….We have to do something, and the only way back from this precipice, from the edge of this cliff, is to start by ending the Korean War with a formal treaty.”

Mr. Tapan Mishra tells stories about living in Pyongyang, North Korea.

Mr. Leaf sent this video message to the International Symposium put on by the Korea Peace Appeal (KPA) coalition to mark the 70th year of the signing of the armistice agreement that paused the Korean War titled: “From Armistice to Peace.” The PC(U.S.A.) continues its work to support the Korea Peace Appeal including my assignment to represent the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) on the KPA international committee. Mr. Leaf was among other speakers and guests who added their voices to the symposium. His video message was broadcast during the first set of speakers considering the current situation and what direction the movement for peace should head in. Even if we would not agree with every assertion that Mr. Leaf made, as most speakers voiced claims that are common in the peace movement, he, a former member of the military, provided a valuable perspective. He joined the voices for peace by noting the risk of war and the necessity of peace.

The second set of speakers included more discussion of which strategies could be implemented and how we can better articulate our hope for peace on the Korean Peninsula. Other speakers included peace activists, peace studies scholars, and leaders of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) whose projects in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, North Korea) have been shut down since the U.S. instituted a travel ban on U.S. citizens entering the DPRK. In addition, the U.S., along with the United Nations (UN), has increased sanctions on resources entering the DPRK.

Symposium participants and speakers march for peace through downtown Seoul.

Another speaker, currently serving in Mongolia, was UN Resident Coordinator Tapan Mishra, Previously, he had served as UN Resident Coordinator and UN Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative for the DRPK and had lived in Pyongyang, DPRK. Mr. Mishra spoke some about the risk that war on the Korean Peninsula posed to the rest of the world. He also spoke of the valuable time he spent living in Pyongyang that humanized North Koreans for him, including those working in government positions. He encouraged peacebuilders to advocate for re-opening opportunities to engage in humanitarian exchanges and humanizing encounters.

In addition to U.S. sanctions and the travel ban, the DPRK remains closed to reduce the risk that the COVID pandemic poses to the DPRK’s medical system. Slowly, however, signs of hope for the DPRK opening up again have come to light. Flights from Pyongyang to China and Russia have recently resumed, and a DPRK Taekwondo team participated in the Taekwondo World Championships in Beijing – the first such athletic participation since the pandemic began. The question for churches like the PC(USA) and peace organizations with projects in the DPRK will be whether we can carry out their projects when the DPRK opens up or whether our work will continue to be hampered by U.S. sanctions and the travel ban.

Kurt and his colleague, Rev. Kipyung Nam, listen to presentations on strategies for peace in Korea.

In this context, the International Symposium and rally events near South Korea’s Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) border with the DPRK hoped to create an environment for peace through commemorating the 70 year anniversary of the armistice agreement. Though the armistice agreement itself included an agreement to reconvene the signatories to negotiate a peace treaty in 1953, the year it was signed, those peace negotiations were never successful. As a result, the Korean Peninsula remains in a perpetual state of paused war that could reignite at any moment. The KPA coalition brought in these international speakers to galvanize our support and consider strategies for a big push before the end of the year to end hostile policies toward the Korean Peninsula.

We are preparing to bring a delegation from Korea to New York City at the end of September and stay in New York until the first week of October. This time frame will coincide with the United Nations General Assembly and the beginning of the UN’s meetings of the First Committee. We plan to deliver the signatures gathered up to that point to various bodies including the UN Secretary-General’s office and the offices of various ambassadors to the UN from four nations that play an important role in the conflict on the Korean Peninsula: the U.S., South Korea, North Korea and China.

You can still add your voice to the Korea Peace Appeal if you have not yet done so! We are asking governments and the UN to turn from policies that perpetuate only hostility toward the DPRK and instead create dialogue and measures that cultivate mutual trust-building. Visit the Korea Peace Appeal page (https://endthekoreanwar.net) to sign your name and mention your affiliation to PC(USA)! Thank you for your prayers, donations and support of our work. Together we are journeying toward a world of understanding and peace.

Kurt and Hyeyoung

Please read this important message from Director of World Mission Rev. Mienda Uriarte

Then the King will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; ³⁵ for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Matthew 25: 34-36

Dear friends,

Great things are happening in World Mission! As you know from the letters you’ve been receiving, our mission co-workers are at the forefront of showing us what Matthew 25 looks like in the U.S. and in the wider world. They are addressing issues related to eradicating systemic poverty, building congregational vitality and dismantling structural racism. Together with our partners, mission co-workers are engaged in life-transforming ministries in 80 countries around the world. Here are just a few examples:

As an education consultant in the Democratic Republic of Congo, José Jones assists the Presbyterian Community of Kinshasa (CPK) education department in the development, implementation and evaluation of strategic plans to strengthen the church’s primary and secondary education programs for more than 350 schools.

Based in Manila, Rev. Cathy Chang works closely with the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) and other partners in ministry to engage programs and networks across Asia that advocate for people vulnerable to forced migration and human trafficking.

Nadia Ayoub works alongside our Greek partners as they faithfully hold to the biblical call to welcome the stranger. Nadia serves with Perichoresis, a ministry of the Evangelical Church of Greece that provides housing and support to refugees; most of whom have come to Greece from Arabic-speaking countries.

Joseph Russ strengthens and supports a network of partners working in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to address migration issues in the Northern Triangle. Based on the needs people on the ground identify, Joseph empowers U.S. congregations to engage in advocacy related to Central America and immigration reform.

Revs. Drs. Noah Park and Esther Shin serve as professors at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo (ETSC). ETSC graduates work toward revitalizing congregational ministries in Egypt and work with refugee and peace ministries in various countries in the Middle East.

Please consider giving an extra gift this year to support our mission co-workers as they walk alongside our partners and help shape a more life-giving, equitable and hopeful world!

Prayerfully,

Rev. Mienda Uriarte, Director of World Mission
Presbyterian Mission Agency
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

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