Veterans Day 2014 at the Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
(Tribune News Service) — Five Korea peace advocates from Hawaii will attend a national gathering this week in Washington to call for an official end to the Korean War.
The two-day gathering will begin Thursday and Friday and fall on the 70th anniversary of the Korean armistice, which ended the fighting but was not a permanent peace treaty between the North and South. It will include a news conference with Korea Peace Congressional Champions, a peace rally and guest speakers who will cover topics such as the cost of the Korean War and the growing nuclear threat it causes.
"We must have peace come first, and it's not just good for the 80 million Korean people on the peninsula, but it's good for us at home," said Christine Ahn, Women Cross DMZ founder and 2022 Peace Summit Medal awardee. "And so we're coming together as a united front to tell President Biden and Congress that if we want to advance the U.S. goals of denuclearization or improved human rights, we must end the war."
Ahn is among many organizers of the event and has been advocating for peace on the Korean Peninsula for 20 years.
Ahn is one of five Hawaii advocates taking part, along with retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan Leaf, author Joseph Han, retired U.S. Army Col. Ann Wright and Jun Shin, a recent University of Hawaii graduate, one of 30 youth whose trip to the event will be funded through donations made to Korea Peace Now! and Women Cross DMZ.
The gathering's primary goal is to mobilize support for the Peace on the Korean Peninsula Act, which calls for a peace agreement with North Korea. The act has the support of nearly 30 members of Congress so far, according to Korea Peace Now!
Leaf is a scheduled speaker at the event, and he plans to discuss the urgency for peace amid the danger of nuclear conflict. He served as a certified nuclear strike pilot and a first wing commander, and he said he has seen the potential for a nuclear war firsthand.
"I've thought about the unthinkable for the last 40 years," Leaf said. "And now in 2023, more than ever, we need to make progress because of the danger of nuclear conflict. ... This dangerous stalemate is no longer a viable alternative."
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