Welcoming Remarks

 By Ms. Mi-Kyung Lee

Member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea

Distinguished Guests, I would like to welcome you all to the Northeast Asian Women's Peace Conference?Women's Six-Party Conference.

I am Mi-Kyung Lee, a member of the National Assembly of Republic of Korea.

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games captivated and excited people in nations around the world especially as they ended. It is all the more meaningful since it is the third Olympics held in an Asian country after the ones in Tokyo, Japan, in 1964 and in Seoul, Korea, in 1988. The eyes of the world were once again on Northeast Asia and northeast Asian countries such as China, ROK, DPRK and Japan.

Despite this great opportunity, tension in the region is heightened more than ever before.

Long-standing conflicts in the region have plantedseeds of dispute among Korea, China, Japan and Russia. The region is fraught with controversy over Japanese history books, land disputes, and post-war and nuclear issues. The differing views on history, combined with conflicting interests, have caused sharp confrontations.

These conflicts raise a question to us livingin the 21st century: How can we address these unresolved issues? Addressing such issues takes the wisdom of people in Northeast Asia and the world.

It would be significant and worthwhile if women from each country meet togetherevery year to reflect upon the meaning of peace in the region and discuss the direction of an international women’s coalition.

The Northeast Asian Women's Peace Conference?Women's Six-Party Conference will serve as a platform for women to meet and communicate with each other and, during the conference, women will accept that they may have different viewpoints, but hearing other opinions, they can build common understanding and trust. It will be a conference where women look for ways to respond to conflicts in a non-violent manner, spread peace to other parts of the world, and discuss vision of women and how to realize it.

I would like to extend my gratitude to you for coming all the way from China, Japan, the US and Russia. I would also like to deeply thank women peace organizations and female lawmakers from the participating countries for making this conference happen. It is my strong wish that the conference will contribute to peace in Northeast Asia.

Thank you.

Congratulatory Remarks

By Ms. Young-Sook Park

Chairperson of the Korea Foundation for Women

It is my privilege to deliver congratulatory remarks during this dinner reception at the Women’s Six-Party Conference, where women leaders from China, the USA, Russia, Japan and Korea are brought together to restore peace on the Korean peninsula and in Northeast Asia.

The Six-Party Talks have been being held at a governmental level to step up efforts for denuclearization on the Korean peninsula and peace in Northeast Asia. This conference is significant because women leaders from the six nations concerned in the Six-Party Talks have come together to engage in discussions to transform the arrangement of nations left overfrom the Cold War into a lasting peace.

We are well aware of the fact that women, girls and the socially vulnerable are most affected when disputes and conflicts, not to mention wars, occur. This reality led the UN Security Council to adopt Resolution 1325 in 2000. Nothing more needs to be said about the importance of women’s participation all levels in the decision-making process for the prevention, control, and resolution of conflict.

It is historic, although belated, that women have awakened themselves to the necessity of their engagement in peace negotiations and agreement processes and have initiated their involvement. These events deserve recognition and praise. It is natural for Korean women from the world’s last divided country to actively take the lead in proposing the conference.

When the Second World War ended, the occupying powers divided Korea to serve their national interests and, over the last 60 years, the Korean people went through inexpressible sufferings. Over 10 million people from separated families remain unknown about whether their family members are still alive. Antagonism between the two Koreas, resulting from the struggle among Koreans, the Korean War, has grown. Caused by the interdivision of Korea, evil practices in an undemocratic system ranging from politics to military, economy, society and education have surfaced. Along with all the challenges presented by these practices, negative effects on women in particular have forced women to take action.

The past 60 years have seen attempts to change the status of the two Koreas, yet the situation remains the same. We cannot deny that this is because the Korean governments have been the sole actors on the reunification issue, and their approaches are taken based on mere national security rationale and out of a desire to stay in power. Given that solutions to the situation can be found only when we go beyond ideology and social systems, we should encourage more participation from civil society and women in particular.

I am strongly convinced that women have the innate and substantial potential to bring down the current barriers. Women are free from national interests, reject military force, and do not drive their children and husbands to war. Women are peace-loving people valuing life and equity and not bounded by ideology and social systems. I have high hopes for the Women's Six-Party Conference in the belief that various peace movementsat the grass-roots level, not at theelite level, should be carried out all around the world simultaneously.

I regret to say that this meeting is not being held on one of the most beautiful mountains in the world, Mount Geum Gang, and with North Korea’s women leaders as we originally planned. Given that this is a reality of the divided nation, it becomes clearer that we should reunite Korea as soon as we can to build a peaceful world.

Let us not forget that many people in North Korea suffer from famine at this very moment. When we put together the resources from both Koreas, this hardship can be overcome. I would like to send my heartfelt congratulations on the opening of the conference?the first step forward to create a world through women’s will and power.

Opening Remarks

By Ms. Seon-Jong Lee Co-Representative of Organizing Committee

The head of Seoul Parish, One-Buddhism

Now I declare the opening of the Northeast Asian Women's Peace Conference?Women's Six-Party Conference. I would like to send my special thanks to guests from home and abroad who attend this conference for the reunification of Korea and a lasting peace on the Korean peninsula. Today, instead of military coercion, we are here together with compassionate, motherly hearts for women’s peace in Northeast Asia.

Over time, we have undergone colonial rule, wars, the Cold War and division and have reaffirmed the importance of peace on the Korean Peninsula time and again. All these experiences help us realize that peace is not separate from life, and that peace is the fundamental wish of humanity and a universal human right. Every time we actively make efforts to maintain peace, promote human rights, and resolve and prevent conflicts, we are one step closer to the realization of dignity in women’s lives. This is a universal truth we all share.

During the three-day conference beginning today, we women in Northeast Asia will share our experiences and wisdom and look to a concrete, workable role women can play in building peace on the Korean peninsula and the region. Cooperation from women and women leaders from the six countries---South and North Korea, China, the USA, Japan and Russia---will enable us to transcend race, ethnicity, religion, history and national boundaries and promote reconciliation and peace. This conference will be the first stride in the long journey.

This international coalition provides the following vision: involvement of women, half of the world’s population, in establishing peace on the Korean peninsula and in Northeast Asia can be a great guide for future social action and a central idea for sustainable peace.

Women Committee of the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation, Women Making Peace, Korean Women’s Association United, and other peace organizations have striven to make this conference a success and their commitments have been a supreme sacrifice. I believe that, when women utilize a variety of experiences,talents and insights, such efforts will serve as a stepping stone for women to enhance policy decision-making, leadership and educational opportunities for peace in the region.

As a way to go beyond the experiences of living under colonial rule and during the Cold-War to transcend culture and political systems, this meeting will offer a venue for trust-building among women and encourage women’s participation in the peace process in Northeast Asia to establish a peaceful regime on the Korean peninsula. It will also motivate women to make contributions to the peace process on the Peninsula and in the region. Once again, I wish for this conference to get off to a good and cooperative start.

Thank you.

Congratulatory Remarks

By Minister Byun, Doyoon

Ministry of Gender Equality

Good morning. I am Byun, Doyoon, Minister of Gender Equality.

I offer my wholehearted congratulations on the opening of the Northeast Asian Women's Peace Conference?Women's Six-Party Conference, designed to enhance women’s role in bringing peace to the Korean peninsula and to Northeast Asia.

I would like to welcome Ms. Kerstin Greb?ck, Co-President of WILPF, and delegates from China, Japan, Russia, the United States, and other participating nations.

On behalf of the Korean government, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Ms. Hyun Back Chung, Chairperson of Women Making Peace, Mr. Se-Hyun Jung, representing Chairperson of the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation, Ms. Nam Yoon In-Soon, President of the Korean Women’s Association United, and the staff for theirdedication and commitment to the conference. My thanks also go to the members of the diverse women groups who are attending this event.

As someone who comes from Yeon Bak, Hwang Hae Province in North Korea, I am very impressed and inspired to be here standing before you.

The purpose of the Northeast Asian Women's Peace Conference is to work out ways to address the North Korean nuclear issue and establish peace in Northeast Asia.

It is civic women organizations, not governmental groups, that are gathering together for the first time to discuss peace in the region, and this fact makes today’s event very meaningful.

I have great hopes that this conference provides women, who are half of the regional population, a venue for meeting and exchanging viewpoints to understand different systems, ideas and ways of thinking and come up with a shared vision of peace.

I also believe that, through this conference, women can transcend past conflicts in the region, the Cold War experience and different systems and cultures to build trust among them and generate active engagement of women in the peace process.

The Korean government for its part has pursued a wide range of policies on peace and stability in the region such as denuclearization on the Korean peninsula and humanitarian aid for people in the North.

However, as the old saying "Two heads are better than one" goes, if women leaders in the civic domain join government efforts by vigorously getting involved in international exchanges and playing an important role, they can better facilitate efforts toward peace.

Therefore, Iexpect respectable women leaders to work actively so that peace can reach every corner of the Korean peninsula.

The Ministry of Gender Equality will spare no efforts to create a variety of programs in which more women can contribute to peace on the Korean peninsula and in Northeast Asia. It will also endeavor with utmost attention to cooperate with the committee of the Northeast Asian Women's Peace Conference.

I again appreciate the hard work of those people who form and run the Korean Women Peace Visiting Group and prepared this conference. I render my greatest support for women who have just embarked on the journey to peace in Korea and the region.

 I wish the Northeast Asian Women's Peace Conference a great success.

Thank you.

Congratulatory Remarks

By Mr. Sei-Ung Ham

President of the Korea Democracy Foundation

Wholehearted congratulations on the opening of the Northeast Asian Women's Peace Conference?Women's Six-Party Conference.

Korea is the last divided country in the world and many threats to peace on the Korean peninsula continue although the Cold War has come to an end. Since the June 15 Joint Declaration, the South-North relations, previously characterized by conflicts and confrontations, have been transformed to reconciliation and cooperation. However, peace is still a long way off.

The Six-Party Talks for denuclearization and peace-building on the Korean peninsula play a pivotal role in bringing peace to the peninsula and Northeast Asia. The Talks have reached a partial agreement and made progress, but a stark reality shows that many obstacles and predicaments are ahead on the road to buildinga peace regime based on mutual trust.

However, peace on the peninsula is the only way for Koreans to reunite, which is the wish of Korean people and a prerequisite for secure peace in the region. On one hand, the prime goal of the Six-Party Talks lies in the nuclear disarmament of North Korea and a nuclear-free peninsula, but, on the other hand, the Talks pave the way for normalizing North Korean-US and North Korean-Japanese relations. In this sense, the successful proceeding of the Talks is essential.

Permanent peace on the Korean peninsula requires the Six-Party Talks and enhanced cooperation between the North and the South in practice, yet it takes more than negotiations among government officials. Peace requires a multi-faceted approach to make necessary changes in culture and mindset as well as social and political systems, because unshaken and sustainable peace can be guaranteed only when such an approach is taken and implemented. Therefore, participation from the public sector that is centered on civil society is needed.

When we strive to attain a peace that excludes any form of violence, women have very important work to contribute. In the course of peace-building, women, as critical representatives of values, approach people’s perception and culture in a practical way so that people can practice what they learn. Women are not just half of the world’s population: Women are the most powerful people. Therefore, it is profoundly significant for women to go beyond the peninsula, find a common voice and translate it into action at the regional level to build a peaceful framework in Korea and the region.

I would like to pay tribute to people who have worked hard to arrange thisconference and hope that this event serves as an opportunity to encourage a substantial contribution by women to denuclearization on the Korean peninsula and the promotion of peace in Northeast Asia. Also, I truly wish that today’s conference allows peace to take root in our consciousness and everyday life.

Thank you.