Jack Parkos | United States

Thomas Jefferson called for “peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations.” In the past, the United States has not through on this deal, however, today we may be able to go through with this advice.

One example of when we did not enjoy peace and commerce was with North Korea. To this day, there has not been an official end to the Korean War. Thousands of US troops are still deployed in South Korea. Tensions are still high between the nations.

However, President Trump has taken significant action in the reduction of the conflict. He meets today for his second meeting with Kim Jong Un of North Korea. Many issues will be discussed today, including decolorization. Trump has stated that he will not “rush” the process but would like nuclear testing to be done. There still is nuclear testing done in North Korea, despite the rest of the world not doing it. “I don’t want to rush anybody. I just don’t want testing. As long as there’s no testing, we’re happy,” he said.

This is something reasonable and could be accomplished perhaps by lifting some sanctions on North Korea.

One other issue that could be brought up is an official end to the Korean War, simply an armistice. But an official declaration to the end could do a lot.

Ironically, the so-called “pro-diplomacy” Democratic party has criticized Trump for not being hard enough on North Korea. Neoconservatives are horrified at the idea of an end to the war, claiming that it will only make good headlines and not be effective. Others even claiming it will make things worse.

However, it may actually be for the better. The ending of the war shows that the United States wants to work towards peace with North Korea and seeks to be less aggressive. The reason North Korea wants to build up its arsenal is that they fear other nations over-powering them. Ending the war will show that we seek good relations and perhaps could help encourage North Korea to stop testing.

Of course, this may not satisfy the war hawks who want more aggression against North Korea. However, this is not a good idea. For starters, we do not want any chance of armed conflict in the peninsula. Americans do not need (or want) another war that could easily be prevented. Although extremely unlikely, nuclear warfare is on the table. Furthermore, aggression against North Korea comes with a side effect, China. China is the elephant in the room that could be a threat to the United States. We do not want to risk conflict with China, we have become dependent on their economy.

Another reason people do not like Trump’s plan is that we are negotiating with a brutal dictator. This is true, Kim Jong Un is no good man. But the same points above apply. Too much aggression could be dangerous. Moreover, Trump appears to have plans to liberalize the country. Claiming that North Korea has the potential for a good economy if it removes its nuclear arsenal. Peaceful diplomacy and free trade could influence the nation to liberalize. With good relations, Trump could negotiate with the country for more freedom. American influence can be brought through peaceful ways, but doing so in a conflict has been proven to be disastrous.

The war in North Korea has gone on for long enough. Men tire of conflict and seek peace. An official declaration to the end of the war could be the start of peace in a tense conflict.

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