WARD ANNOUNCES HISTORIC PEACE INITIATIVE  BETWEEN KOREAS ON HOUSE FLOOR
 
News Release from Office of Rep Gene Ward April 26, 2018

HONOLULU, HAWAI’I - Representative Gene Ward (District 17–Hawaii Kai, Kalama Valley), a member of the House Military Affairs & International Relations Committee, ended today's House floor session by praising North and South Korea for their agreement to pursue an end to their decades-long war and for perhaps bringing a sigh of relief to Hawaii.
 
“It was just a few short months ago that Kim Jong Un of North Korea said his country's missiles could reach Hawaii," Ward said on the House floor. "And who among us can forget the morning of January 13th? Is there anyone here who didn't think the supposed incoming missile had been launched by North Korea?"
 
Kim and South Korean leader Moon Jae In pledged earlier today in Panmunjom to negotiate a treaty to formally end the Korean War and also to remove all nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula. It was the first time a North Korean leader had ever set foot in South Korea.
 
"Today is a truly historic day," Ward said. "For that we have much to be grateful for. Let us hope there will soon be real, lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula. But, let's trust but verify."
 
Last month, Ward wrote a letter to President Donald Trump, inviting the President and Kim to Hawaii to hold summit talks. Trump has agreed to meet with Kim, presumably next month or in early June. A site has not been chosen, but it is said that possibilities have been whittled to two.
 
Ward has promoted the talks to take place at the East-West Center or at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. He calls Hawaii a possible "Geneva of the Pacific" where leaders can  come to forge agreements toward lasting peace and understanding.
 
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