Prime Minister Hun Sen on February 11 said a war cannot be ended by a war, in his opening remarks at the World Peace Summit 2022 held in South Korea under the theme “Toward Peace on the Korean Peninsula”.
The premier said the presence of many world leaders at the summit this year was important for the sake of peace on the Korean Peninsula.
This year marks the 72nd anniversary of the Korean War, which started on June 25, 1950, and ended only with an armistice on July 27, 1953. Despite tremendous efforts decades on, no peace agreement has been reached, he said.
“Therefore, this is an important moment to reach a peace treaty on the Korean Peninsula. We need a communique to end the war on the Korean Peninsula,” he said.
Hun Sen said that to promote peace and prosperity in the region, the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) – in cooperation with the Asian Cultural Council (ACC) and Asian Vision Institute (AVI) – is planning a Mekong Peace Park project aimed at promoting the value and culture of peace; building a foundation and network of peace; as well as compiling documents and disseminating messages about peace.
He hoped that the Mekong Peace Park project would be fruitful and essential. Cambodia and the Mekong Region can provide lessons on peacemaking, peacebuilding and national unification. The premier cited his win-win policy – which eventually brought about national reconciliation and comprehensive peace in Cambodia – as one of the examples of peacemaking and sources of research for other countries.
“We cannot leverage a war to end war, but we need a peaceful dialogue and win-win negotiation to end a war,” he stressed.
“In more than half of my life, I've seen negotiation as the best option. I've never believed that war can end war. Our country has been torn apart by war and we had spent four years negotiating an end to that war."
He urged the two Koreas and relevant parties to reach a peace treaty as soon as possible in order to bring about a lasting peace on the peninsula. He appealed to all stakeholders to push for cooperation, with trust and partnership being the core for the path toward a peaceful Korean unification.
