A New Paradigm for Trust-Building on the Korean Peninsula

Can an effort to make peace between humans and nature help bring peace among humans? For nearly two decades, the Six-Party states-the two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia, and Japan-either bilaterally or multilaterally have attempted to denuclearize North Korea and make peace on the Korean peninsula. Many options considered by the US and its allies, including a preemptive military strike and coercive economic sanctions against North Korea, have proven ineffectual or ethically unsupportable. Political and diplomatic negotiations have lacked both mutual regard among the parties and faith in the process and have thus far proven to be useless. Today it seems apparent that the United States and its allies cannot accomplish what they want under the current negotiating scheme. A new paradigm is needed for building trust and for moving forward. Collaborative efforts to turn Korea's Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) into a UNESCO World Heritage Site can provide a trust-building measure among the Six-Party nations. Environmental and cultural cooperation among the major adversaries, prompted by internationally neutral scientists and scholars, will provide a unique opportunity in the DMZ. The efforts to change human behavior toward the DMZ's natural and cultural importance can help make peace among humans and serve as a new paradigm for creating peace on the Korean peninsula

Archaeology · Computer security · DMZ · Geography · Peninsula · Political science · Computer Science · History · Korean Peninsula Historical and Political Studies · Socioeconomic Development in Asia

• The Exquisite Corpses of Nature and History

  Open Access•Julia Adeney Thomas•Japan focus•2012

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