Moscow, Russia - An international conference on "Peace Prospects on the Korean Peninsula” in observance of the 60th anniversary of the end of the Korean War and signing of the Armistice Agreement took place on July 20, 2013 in Moscow. It was organized by the NGO “Bomminryon,” a pro-North Korean organization which promotes the peaceful reunification of Korea.
Mr. Kim En Choi, Ambassador of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to Russia, and officials from the Embassy were present at the conference. In fact, everything was organized under their supervision. Also representatives of associations of Korean people (pro-North Korean) from Japan (“Chyon Ryon”), China, Europe, Australia, Canada, USA, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan participated and gave presentations.
First Mr. Felix P. Kim, the Chair of the NGO “Bomminryon,” spoke on the topic “The war as it is.” Then two Russian scholars from the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Oriental Studies gave presentations: Dr. Yuri Vanin, Ph.D., Senior Researcher of the Department of Korean and Mongolian Studies, spoke on the topic “Historic aspects of the Korean War,” and Dr. Alexander V. Vorontsov, Head of the Department for Korean and Mongolian Studies, spoke on the topic “Attempts to make peace on the Korean Peninsula.” After that the representative of the North Korean authorities and their liaison with compatriots who live abroad gave a presentation.
The main themes of most of the speeches included:
- USA was to blame for triggering the Korean War and then for the 60 years of failure to sign a peace treaty.
- North Korea needs nuclear weapons, since after the collapse of the USSR it has to think about its own security.
- North Korea promotes signing a peace treaty with the USA that will result in US troops leaving the South and dissolving the DMZ.
- The importance of unification
After the main part of the conference, there were performances by Koreans living in Russia (members of the NGO “Bomminryon”) and children of the staff of the North Korean Embassy in Russia.
UPF-Russia arranged to have an information table for introducing the activities of UPF worldwide, the autobiography its founder Dr. Sun Myung Moon, a photo of the posthumous award which was given to him from the North Korean government, and copies of the magazine UPF Today in Russian. The most recent issue of the magazine was dedicated to the topic of the Korean War, with many articles by Russian experts. Many participants in the conference, including staff from the North Korean embassy, came to the table and picked up literature.
A connection was made with the vice president of the NGO “Bomminryon,” Mrs. Klara Shin, daughter of the Russian who fought during the war and was acknowledged as the first hero of North Korea.