ID :
190232
Wed, 06/22/2011 - 01:02
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/190232
The shortlink copeid
Review of Korean War armistice needed to avoid conflict: expert
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) - The two Koreas, the United States and China need to begin a painstaking review of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 war in order to prevent further conflicts and pave the way for lasting peace, a U.S. scholar said Tuesday.
Balbina Hwang, visiting professor at Georgetown University, pointed out that enforcement and maintenance of the armistice have languished over the decades, as shown by the fact that the North's two deadly attacks on the South in 2010 were not addressed immediately and primarily as armistice violations.
"It is not too late to initiate a thorough review and examination of historical and current practices and initiate new practices to strengthen the existing agreement," she said in a presentation script for a seminar hosted by the Korea Economic Institute, based in Washington. Her remarks came four days ahead of the 61st anniversary of the outbreak of the war.
Hwang served as senior special adviser to Christopher Hill when he served as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs and Washington's chief delegate to the six-way talks on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons drive.
Hwang said eliciting Pyongyang's cooperation in the process will be an obstacle, but ultimately it is in the communist nation's interest to keep the armistice alive.
"Only by reinvigorating and revitalizing the functions of the armistice can it serve as an effective institutional basis for a permanent peace arrangement while ensuring the prevention of further conflict in the interim," she said.
On disputes over the legal representation of the parties involved, Hwang said although South Korea was not an formal signatory, it is widely accepted that Seoul is a party to the agreement.
The U.S. representative, Lt. Gen. William Harrison, signed in his capacity as representative of the U.N. Command, not the U.S., she noted.
Pyongyang has called for direct talks with Washington to replace the armistice with a peace treaty.
The Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950, when the communist North, supported by China, invaded the South. The U.S.-led United Nations troops fought back alongside the South before the conflict came to an end with a ceasefire on July 27, 1953.
Balbina Hwang, visiting professor at Georgetown University, pointed out that enforcement and maintenance of the armistice have languished over the decades, as shown by the fact that the North's two deadly attacks on the South in 2010 were not addressed immediately and primarily as armistice violations.
"It is not too late to initiate a thorough review and examination of historical and current practices and initiate new practices to strengthen the existing agreement," she said in a presentation script for a seminar hosted by the Korea Economic Institute, based in Washington. Her remarks came four days ahead of the 61st anniversary of the outbreak of the war.
Hwang served as senior special adviser to Christopher Hill when he served as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs and Washington's chief delegate to the six-way talks on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons drive.
Hwang said eliciting Pyongyang's cooperation in the process will be an obstacle, but ultimately it is in the communist nation's interest to keep the armistice alive.
"Only by reinvigorating and revitalizing the functions of the armistice can it serve as an effective institutional basis for a permanent peace arrangement while ensuring the prevention of further conflict in the interim," she said.
On disputes over the legal representation of the parties involved, Hwang said although South Korea was not an formal signatory, it is widely accepted that Seoul is a party to the agreement.
The U.S. representative, Lt. Gen. William Harrison, signed in his capacity as representative of the U.N. Command, not the U.S., she noted.
Pyongyang has called for direct talks with Washington to replace the armistice with a peace treaty.
The Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950, when the communist North, supported by China, invaded the South. The U.S.-led United Nations troops fought back alongside the South before the conflict came to an end with a ceasefire on July 27, 1953.
