[caption id="attachment_1962" align="alignright" width="200"] Blog by Sr. Barbara Kane, OP[/caption]
My congratulation to Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim who met and signed an agreement today to establish new U.S./North Korean relations intended to build peace and prosperity. North Korea “commits to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” Given Mr. Kim’s demonstrations of nuclear power in the past year, finding a way to bring peace would benefit not just the Korean Peninsula but the entire world. Mr. Kim is a third generation dictator who has built a nuclear program and a modern city for three million chosen few while the remaining 22 million citizens struggle to find food. He, his father, and grandfather before him have a history of not fulfilling their promises regarding peace making and reducing their nuclear weapons. Let us pray that this will prove wrong in this situation.
I don’t really want to be skeptical but Mr. Trump has a record of pulling the United States out of all recent treaties including the Paris Accord, the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Trans Pacific Partnership, and the Iran Nuclear Agreement. At other times, he has agreed to participate in actions and then immediately pulls out of them. This doesn’t seem to be a platform from which trust can evolve. Let us pray that this will prove wrong in this situation.
Both leaders have called each other names and brandished the sticks that they bring to the table. North Korea says it has nuclear weapons capable of reaching mainland United States. The U.S. uses trade sanctions and a threat of cutting off all trade with North Korea. These sticks are huge and impact millions of people. Let us pray that these sticks will not be used in the future.
There have been multiple attempts by the U.S. and the international community to negotiate an end to North Korea’s nuclear development. Each time, the efforts have collapsed. The latest attempt was in 2003 when the U.S. and North Korea joined with China, Japan, Russia, and South Korea when North Korea pledged to abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs” and rejoin the NPT (Non Proliferation Treaty). In the end, North Korea pulled out of the treaty. Let us pray that this will be wrong in this situation.
For the families of military lost in the Korean War, the agreement did commit to recovering POW/MIA remains and repatriation those already identified. This is wonderful news. Let us pray in gratitude that this will happen swiftly.
Let us pray that these efforts will also lead to an official end to the Korean War which ended in 1953 with an armistice agreement but not a peace settlement and the reunification of the country.
Blog by Sr. Barbara Kane, OP[/caption]
My congratulation to Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim who met and signed an agreement today to establish new U.S./North Korean relations intended to build peace and prosperity. North Korea “commits to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” Given Mr. Kim’s demonstrations of nuclear power in the past year, finding a way to bring peace would benefit not just the Korean Peninsula but the entire world. Mr. Kim is a third generation dictator who has built a nuclear program and a modern city for three million chosen few while the remaining 22 million citizens struggle to find food. He, his father, and grandfather before him have a history of not fulfilling their promises regarding peace making and reducing their nuclear weapons. Let us pray that this will prove wrong in this situation.
I don’t really want to be skeptical but Mr. Trump has a record of pulling the United States out of all recent treaties including the Paris Accord, the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Trans Pacific Partnership, and the Iran Nuclear Agreement. At other times, he has agreed to participate in actions and then immediately pulls out of them. This doesn’t seem to be a platform from which trust can evolve. Let us pray that this will prove wrong in this situation.
Both leaders have called each other names and brandished the sticks that they bring to the table. North Korea says it has nuclear weapons capable of reaching mainland United States. The U.S. uses trade sanctions and a threat of cutting off all trade with North Korea. These sticks are huge and impact millions of people. Let us pray that these sticks will not be used in the future.
There have been multiple attempts by the U.S. and the international community to negotiate an end to North Korea’s nuclear development. Each time, the efforts have collapsed. The latest attempt was in 2003 when the U.S. and North Korea joined with China, Japan, Russia, and South Korea when North Korea pledged to abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs” and rejoin the NPT (Non Proliferation Treaty). In the end, North Korea pulled out of the treaty. Let us pray that this will be wrong in this situation.
For the families of military lost in the Korean War, the agreement did commit to recovering POW/MIA remains and repatriation those already identified. This is wonderful news. Let us pray in gratitude that this will happen swiftly.
Let us pray that these efforts will also lead to an official end to the Korean War which ended in 1953 with an armistice agreement but not a peace settlement and the reunification of the country. 