Ad in the New York Times asks Obama to normalize relations with North Korea as he did with Cuba

A group of Korean-Americans took out an ad in the New York Times urging US President Barack Obama to take steps to sign a peace treaty with North Korea.

The group, who identified themselves as Korean-Americans who support a peace treaty between North Korea and the US, ran a full-page advertisement titled “An open letter to President Obama” on page five of the Mar. 15 edition of the newspaper.

“One of their [Korean Americans’] major motivations supporting your candidacy during the time was your repeatedly publicized clear commitment to dialogue and negotiation with countries that are at odds with U.S., namely Cuba and North Korea.,” the group said in the letter.

Noting that, when Obama announced the normalization of diplomatic relations with Cuba at the end of last year, he had mentioned that he was primarily motivated by the fact that the methods of isolation and sanctions had not worked and that the Cuba regime had survived, the letter asked why he doesn’t “look at North Korea the same way.”

In regard to the policy of “strategic patience” that Obama has adopted toward North Korea, the letter argued that “this will only give North Korea an excuse to sacrifice the welfare of its people and adhere to its hard-lined stance on national defense.”

“There are other matters that North Koreans consider to be insulting to their national pride: accusations by the U.N. of human rights abuses; the recent comedy film depicting the assassination of their leader; and the launching of balloons by defectors from South Korea toward North Korea filled with malicious and derogatory notes about the North Korean leader. These incidents are beyond your control, however, as the commander in chief, you have control over military matters, particularly the joint military maneuvers between U.S. and South Korea, held so often and so close to their border. These military exercises need to be minimized or eliminated,” the group wrote to Obama.

“Dear President Obama, as a Nobel Peace Laureate, it behooves you to take steps to make peace, to normalize the relations between the U.S. and North Korea, which the North Korean leadership has repeatedly indicated it desires so ardently. This could end the 70 years of enmity between the two countries. In so doing, you can help to bring about peace, denuclearization, an economic upswing, and eventual re-unification of the two Koreas,” the group said at the end of their letter.

　

By Park Hyun, Washington correspondent

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