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Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon gives a speech at the Council of Foreign Relations in Washington, DC, on Jan. 13. (provided by the Seoul Metropolitan Government)

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who is currently touring the US, proposed that South Korea, the US, and North Korea should temporarily suspend hostile activities such as military exercises on the Korean Peninsula until the 2022 Winter Olympics kick off in Beijing.

Speaking at an invitational talk at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in Washington, DC, on the afternoon of Jan. 13, Park said, “I propose that the North Korean, South Korean, and US governments temporarily suspend all tension-raising and hostile actions on the Korean Peninsula, including military exercises, from now until the period of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.”

Noting the “strong possibility that the decision on the joint Seoul/Pyongyang Olympics bid will be made in 2021 or 2022,” Park explained, “A climate of peace on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia needs to be established right now for the sake of a joint hosting arrangement with Pyongyang.”

He went on to share his “hope that the UN and international community will cooperate under this emphasis on peace so that a squad with a unified inter-Korean team can participate in this year’s Tokyo Olympics, thus making it a global sports festival that transcends ideology and conflict.”

Park also called for the loosening of sanctions on North Korea.

“In the interest of achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and humanitarian aims, the city of Seoul is prepared to take part in a cooperative effort to improve water quality in the Taedong River, co-host the 2032 Olympics with Pyongyang, and pursue various forms of humanitarian assistance and exchange in the areas of culture and sports,” he said.

“Currently, however, even these humanitarian and peaceful forms of cooperation with North Korea cannot be pursued,” he lamented.

Referring to the “complete break” with North Korea, he explained, “In some ways, relations are far worse now than in the past.”

“It has become difficult to proceed toward the peace that the people want. How can we ever bring peace to the Korean Peninsula when even these kinds of small gestures of peace are too difficult?” he continued.

Park also stressed the importance of establishing a more rational arrangement for South Korea and the US to share defense costs.

“If only for the sake of the South Korea-US alliance, the defense cost shares should be adjusted within the scope of what is mutually acceptable. They should do this to prove that the alliance truly is of mutual benefit,” he said.

“Any national strategy or security base is sustained and guaranteed by the mutual trust and support of citizens on both sides,” he added.

By Chai Yoon-tae, staff reporter

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