Speaking at the North Korea Freedom Week forum in Washington, Ambassador Robert Joseph, former undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, argued against denuclearization negotiations with North Korea. He stressed that such talks would give “lifelines” to a regime that “imprisons, tortures, and kills its own people” and will never give up its nuclear weapons. The argument was further strengthened in a policy report by the National Institute for Public Policy, chaired by Amb. Joseph, which concluded that denuclearization diplomacy has failed for three decades because of efforts to separate the nuclear issue from the regime’s nature.
Amid renewed debate over denuclearization and North Korea, the policy report on “free and unified Korea” emphasized that unification is not “an alternative to denuclearization but its completion.” Without addressing the structural division of the Korean Peninsula, neither the nuclear threat nor human rights issues can be resolved.
This aligns with Global Peace Foundation’s (GPF) long-standing advocacy for Korean unification, which calls for peace through reunification rooted in shared identity, freedom, and the aspirations of the Korean people beyond the 38th parallel. With various campaigns and initiatives, GPF advances the “One Korea” vision rooted in Hongik Ingan, meaning “for the benefit of all humankind,” and affirms that peaceful unification would result in lasting peace, regional stability, and human dignity not only on the Korean peninsula but also as a model for the world.
The North Korea Freedom Week discussions provided strong international validation for GPF’s “One Korea” advocacy, which promotes peaceful Korean reunification rooted in freedom, human rights, and shared Korean identity. The event further reinforces GPF’s position that lasting peace on the peninsula cannot be achieved through denuclearization efforts alone but through a comprehensive vision for a free and unified Korea.
Read the event coverage by UPI here: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/04/30/denuclearization-nonproliferation-negotiation-irrelevant/1501777590334/
