Photo of July 27, 2023 demonstration outside of the White House for Korea Peace Advocacy Week by Dan Moriarty.

Korea Peace Advocates Meet with U.S. Legislators

Advocates called for an end to the Korean war for the 75th anniversary of its start.

Over 150 people from 28 states and the District of Columbia participated in the 10th annual Korea Peace Advocacy Week June 9 – 13, urging their Members of Congress to support the Peace on the Korean Peninsula Act.

The Advocacy Week was organized by the Korea Peace Network, including Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns together with Women Cross DMZ, Korea Peace Now, the United Methodist Church’s Global Ministries, Mennonite Central Committee, and American Friends Service Committee.

June 25 marked the 75th anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War. Though fighting stopped with an armistice 72 years ago, on July 27, 1953, a formal peace agreement was not signed, and the war never officially ended. Tensions and division on the Korean Peninsula have endured, heightened by the threat of nuclear war.

The Peace on the Korean Peninsula Act would call for diplomacy and negotiations with North Korea in pursuit of a binding peace agreement to formally end the Korean War, requiring the Secretary of State to report on a roadmap for achieving permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula. It would also require review of the current ban on travel to North Korea, and the establishment of criteria for exceptions, including for family visits and humanitarian aid. Advocates urged members of the House of Representatives to co-sponsor and pass the bill, H.R. 1841, and called on Senators to introduce a companion bill.

Participants in Advocacy Week also asked legislators to speak publicly in favor of ending the war on the July 27 anniversary of the armistice.

The House bill currently has 40 co-sponsors. While support is bipartisan, the majority of co-sponsors thus far are Democrats. Pressure on Republican congressional offices is key to gathering the needed support for legislation in both chambers.

In a press release, MOGC Director Susan Gunn said, “Walking with the Korean people for over a century, Maryknoll missioners have felt first-hand the pain of war and separation on the Korean Peninsula. Demilitarization, reduction of nuclear risk, delivery of humanitarian aid, reuniting separated families – everything that constitutes just and enduring peace for all Koreans begins with negotiating a peace agreement to officially end the Korean War.”

Faith in Action: Add your voice to those calling for peace on the Korean Peninsula and write your members of Congress https://mogc.me/KPC