PeaceNet

Thirty years have passed since the end of the Cold War. However, we still live under constant threats. The US–China conflict continues to worsen, whereas traditional security threats such as territorial disputes and nuclear proliferation persist. Moreover, new threats such as cyberattacks and climate change are increasing rapidly. Climate change in particular has caused a pandemic crisis, threatening our lives and economic prosperity. In responding to these multiple threats and crises, the foundations of multilateralism and democracy—the pillars of the post-war international order and peace—are faltering due to increased “my country first” attitudes. Therefore, at the 16th Jeju Forum, we seek ways to overcome the multiple crises facing our world under the main theme of “Sustainable Peace, Inclusive Prosperity.” The 16th Jeju Forum is scheduled to be held in Jeju from June 24 to 26, 2021.

Traditional and human security concepts treated states and individuals as subjects, respectively. However, the recent COVID-19 crisis has revealed that the two concepts have limits in identifying the cause – disharmony between humans and nature – and finding solutions to the ongoing phenomenon. Under such a circumstance, the Jeju Peace Institute (JPI) would like to present the concept of Humane Security, which is different from traditional and human security concepts, that would improve our understanding of the world. Humane Security focuses on the relationship between humans and nature, incorporating nature as the new subject in the security discourse. By accepting nature as a sovereign subject, not as an object, humans will form a relationship with nature that mutually respects each other. Only then will humans be able to understand the underlying causes of the newly emerging crisis and find appropriate solutions to them. In short, Humane Security concept claims that securing nature’s security is an essential precondition for the security of both humans and nature.

We are asked to focus in this discussion not so much on how to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula but rather on how to sustain peace there and in the wider North East Asian region once that formidably difficult task has been accomplished. Denuclearization of the Peninsula is a formidably difficult task because, to be worth the name, it has to involve ? although others’ definitions may be wider or narrower ? not only North Korea verifiably relinquishing all its nuclear weapons and South Korea credibly pledging never to acquire or station them, but also the United States, and desirably China and Russia as well, giving credible negative security assurances not to threaten or use nuclear weapons there.

The road that leads to Korean peninsula denuclearization is relatively well mapped. However structured, however it is phased, the specific steps that must be taken are well known.1 Some, such as John Bolton, argue that denuclearization may be achieved rapidly – in one or two years.2 Others have suggested it may take as long as a decade.3 My view is that it is somewhere in-between, with irreversible steps that would make reconstituting a nuclear arsenal in the DPRK extremely challenging possible in one year with verification; but a complete denuclearization including a return to good standing with the IAEA and re-entry into the NTP, at minimum, five years, or more likely longer.

The hallmark of US-Korea joint command is its readiness to “fight tonight.” The scenario on which most focus is one in which the North attacks the South. Because the US-South Korean forces are ready and able to defend and ultimately defeat North Korea, our deterrent posture has succeeded in preventing war for more than six decades.

Situations in which two countries are in dispute, or have been at war with each other, are always very hard to resolve. There is a complex legacy of hatreds, family losses and divisions, and catastrophic episodes that can never be fully erased. But throughout history there have been cases in which bitter conflicts have been settled peacefully. The challenge for negotiators who are seeking peace is to identify both the motivation of each of the conflicting parties to find a peaceful solution,