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| A captured image from the White House's petition website "We the People" |
By Park Ji-won
An online petition posted on the White House website calling for a peace treaty with North Korea has gathered over 100,000 signatures in about three weeks since its posting _ the minimum number to get a response from the White House.
The petition titled "A Peace Treaty on the Korean Peninsula" was created on March 15 by a person named J.Y. asking U.S. President Donald Trump to sign a comprehensive and permanent peace treaty with North Korea in his meeting with the North's leader Kim Jong-un slated for late May or June.
As of Tuesday, the petition had 102,500 signatures, about 25 days after its posting.
"We will do our best to respond to petitions that cross the signature threshold," the White House petitions page says, saying it "will post a response _ and any updates _ are posted as quickly as possible"
In the petition, J.Y. insists the first move towards peace lies in denuclearization, and normalizing U.S.-North Korean relations with a peace treaty would be "a bold move for peace that will be remembered for ages."
The online petition site, called "We the People," was launched by former President Barack Obama in 2011 with a pledge that any petition gathering over 100,000 signatures within 30 days would receive an official response from the White House. Anyone from any country can participate in signing petitions.
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| Members of The Peace Foundation in Seoul promote the petition submitted to the White House on signing a peace treaty with North Korea, Sunday. / Courtesy of The Peace Foundation |
The Peace Foundation, a civic group, also promoted the petition to gather signatures in South Korea.
"We promoted the petition in the streets because we found it hard to gather 100,000 signatures by the deadline. The most important thing is denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. In order to do so, signing a peace treaty is necessary," an official of the foundation said.
The petition was started by Korean civic activists in the U.S. as part of their attempt to get a response from the White House regarding the issue. The Washington DC Chapter of the National Unification Advisory Council is known to have played a leading role in submitting the petition and its promotion, while other U.S.-based Korean civic organizations also participated.
A meeting between Kim Jong-un and Trump will come after the two Koreas hold their first summit in more than a decade which is set for April 27.
In March, South Korean government officials visited the North and met Kim Jong-un, later visiting Trump in the U.S. to extend Kim's invitation for a meeting. Trump quickly accepted the offer.
Kim has also committed to ceasing nuclear and missile testing for the time being, even during joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises.
