The Korean War\n(1950-’53) never ended but was merely suspended by an armistice agreement between\nNorth Korea (representing the Korean People\u2019s Army and the Chinese People\u2019s\nVolunteers) and the United States (representing the multinational United\nNations Command). While the Korean War no longer consists of active fighting,\nhostilities between the two parties have remained high, resulting in the\nextreme militarization of the Korean Peninsula. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Without a peace\ntreaty or agreement, war could break out at any time. And if war erupted on the\nKorean Peninsula today, it\u2019s estimated<\/a> that as many\nas 300,000 people would die in the first\nfew days<\/em> of conventional fighting. Because of provisions in the U.S.-R.O.K. Mutual Defense Treaty<\/a> and the Sino-North Korean Mutual Aid and Cooperation Friendship Treaty\nof 1961<\/a>, such a\nconflict also has the potential to escalate into a much larger regional war\nwith China. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Negotiating a peace\ntreaty or agreement would not only end the Korean War, it would be a crucial\nstep toward denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula by providing North Korea with\nthe security assurances it says it needs. A peace treaty or agreement that\nnormalizes relations would also improve the humanitarian conditions for\nmillions of North Koreans, who rely on humanitarian aid to survive. And it\nwould be a step toward shifting resources away from endless wars and toward\nmore basic human needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From Liberia<\/a> to Northern\nIreland<\/a>, women have been\ninstrumental in making peace agreements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Research<\/a> shows that the participation of civil society\ngroups, including women\u2019s organizations, makes a peace agreement 64 percent\nless likely to fail. And when women participate in peace processes, the\nresulting agreements are 35 percent more likely to last at least 15 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Including women\u2019s equal participation and full\ninvolvement in peace agreements is also a commitment of both UN\nSecurity Council Resolution 1325<\/a>\nand the U.S.\u2019s Women,\nPeace and Security Act of 2017<\/a>, which recognize the crucial role that women\nplay in conflict prevention, management, and resolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it\u2019s not because of gender that many women\nare powerful peacemakers; it\u2019s because they are advocates of feminist peace.\nFeminist peacebuilders believe that dialogue and cooperation, not weapons and\nsanctions, are the most effective routes toward creating genuine, long-lasting\npeace and security for all<\/em> people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Although we can\u2019t second-guess North Korea\u2019s\nintentions, here\u2019s what we know:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taken all together, this means an effective freeze on\nnuclear weapons production \u2014 notable at a time when other nuclear weapons\npowers are engaged in a nuclear arms race. The only way to remove the North\nKorean nuclear threat is through a political solution; North Korea will give up\nits nuclear weapons only when it no longer feels the threat of attack from the\nUnited States. The best way to remove the threat on both sides is to move\ntoward normalizing relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From 1994 \u2014 when the Clinton administration and North\nKorea negotiated the Agreed Framework<\/a> \u2014 until 2002 \u2014 when\nthen-President George W. Bush reneged on U.S. commitments and declared<\/a> North Korea part of\nthe \u201caxis of evil,\u201d North Korea\u2019s nuclear program remained frozen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As long as the United States and North Korea were\nengaged in dialogue, North Korea honored its end of the bargain. In fact, it\nwas during the Obama administration when the U.S. shut down dialogue that North\nKorea sped up<\/a> its nuclear weapons\nprogram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The only way to know if we can trust North Korea as a\nnegotiating partner is by negotiating and holding them to their word. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The United States has diplomatic relations with many countries that are known violators of human rights, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, and Burma. The best way to assess the human rights situation is to send fact-finding missions to investigate. But to do so, we need to first end the state of war and normalize relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n UN human rights special rapporteur Tom\u00e1s Ojea Quintana\nsaid<\/a> sanctions are having\na dire impact on the economic and social conditions of the North Korean people.\nIf Americans are concerned about the human rights of the North Korean people,\nthe U.S. should end the policy of sanctions and clear the way for inter-Korean\neconomic cooperation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Decades of sanctions and isolation have not had the\nintended effect on North Korea. To the contrary, pressure and isolation through\nsanctions have only strengthened North Korea\u2019s resolve to become a nuclear\npower. What these policies have done is impact the most vulnerable populations\nin North Korea. North Korea says<\/a> it will give up its\nnuclear weapons only when it feels the United Sates no longer poses an\nexistential threat to its country. The only way to remove the threat on both\nsides is to end the unresolved status of the Korean War and move to normalize\nrelations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Economic engagement and integration of North Korea\ninto the global economic community is a more effective way of bringing about\nchange in North Korean society.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhy do women need to be involved in the Korea peace process?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Is North Korea serious about denuclearization?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Can we trust North Korea as a negotiating partner?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
How can we make peace with a regime that violates human rights?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Won\u2019t lifting sanctions mean giving up our only leverage for denuclearizing North Korea?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
What will happen to U.S. troops in South Korea and the U.S.-R.O.K. alliance after a peace treaty or agreement is signed?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n