December 15, 2017
Dear Mr. President,
I trust that you and your family are well. I have delayed writing this letter, but I fear that I may have waited too long. We understand that your nation’s military is the most powerful in the world. We are grateful that you have protected our interests for many years since the armistice. About North Korea, you have repeatedly stated that “all options are on the table”.
I understand your need to demonstrate that the United States will not be threatened by any nation. I truly appreciate your need to protect your land and your people. As president of South Korea, I am also responsible for the welfare of my people.
I implore you to resist any military option in response to North Korea. I hope that you understand that regardless of what you, or North Korea do, my people are doomed. We will be the first and major casualties of any combat.
Mr. President, I trust that you understand that the peoples of North and South Korea are basically all Korean. We all speak Korean. Many of us have family and friends on both sides of the demilitarized zone. I have never told you, but my favorite aunt and uncle live in Pyongyang. My half-brother is an air force pilot, and the god-father of my daughter. He teaches Sunday school in Nampo.
Forget about my family, and please imagine the death and wounded toll that we will suffer should war befall the Korean peninsula. I am not a pacifist, but as Mr. John Lennon has said, ‘give peace a chance.”
Sincerely yours,
Moon Jae-in
President of the Republic of South Korea