Hopes and Fears for Peace in Korea

Events could lead to war ending

Presbyterian Peace Network of Korea | Press Statement

Courtesy of Presbyterian Peace Network of Korea

SEOUL, South Korea – The Presbyterian Peace Network for Korea rejoices at the significant developments during these first months of 2018 that have reduced tensions in the Korean Peninsula and raised hopes for peace in that region.

The previous year was filled with exchanges of threats and insults, and hostile military displays that spread anxiety around the world about a possible renewal of the Korean War, now with the use of nuclear weapons, without generating any visible progress toward peace.  At the beginning of this year, South Korean President Moon Jae In’s courageous decision to field a joint team with North Korean athletes in the Winter Olympic Games and to have the two delegations march together in the opening ceremonies, set in motion a series of events that have raised hopes that an end to the Korean War may soon be negotiated.

President Moon and Chairman Kim Jong Un are to be congratulated for their efforts to reach across the dividing line that has separated their two countries for decades.  The participation of joint South-North teams in the Winter Olympic Games and the cordial interactions of the high-level delegations from both countries at the games demonstrated that friendly interpersonal relations can transcend the barriers that ordinarily separate us.

The encouraging results of the historic summit meeting on April 27 between President Moon and Chairman Kim filled us with hope that diplomacy will triumph over violence. The agreements published in the Panmunjom Declaration surpassed expectations and paved the way for further negotiations to move Korea toward peace and normalized relations in the global family of nations.

The May 22 summit meeting between President Donald Trump and President Moon and the subsequent meeting between President Moon and Chairman Kim on May 26 have strengthened the prospect that diplomacy will triumph over the threat of war.

A summit meeting between President Trump and Chairman Kim, tentatively planned for June 12, will be a crucial step in the path toward peace.  The Presbyterian Peace Network for Korea prays that they will continue the progress away from renewed war and toward a just and lasting peace, and urges President Trump to remember that the interests of the United States are intertwined with the well-being of people in South and North Korea, many of whom are relatives and friends of  American citizens.  With so much progress already made toward establishing friendly relationships between South and North Korea, the United States must not stand in the way to block the path to peace.

As Presbyterian Christians, we are called to seek reconciliation in a world divided by race, nationality and ideology.  By our prayers, and through our words and actions, we seek to demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ and to share the peace we receive through God’s Spirit with our brothers and sisters, not only in the Korean peninsula, but around the world.