U.S. Teen On Solo North Korea Peacebuilding Mission

President Obama still hasn't started the direct talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il that he controversially promised during his campaign two years ago. But that's not stopping a 13-year-old American from doing just that, solo and on his own initiative.

If ever there was meant to be a cause célèbre for the pursuit of peace with North Korea and delivering its people from their suffering under the evermore severe economic sanctions we are imposing, this is it. And it's a captivating and unique story worth spreading to inspire youth peacebuilding worldwide, still largely untapped. This, at a time when tensions between the nuclear-aspiring, China-aligned North Korea and U.S.-aligned South Korea are at a high, which many fear may make the Cold War's first proxy war in the 1950s make a nuclear comeback.

The teenager's name is Jonathan Lee, he lives in Mississippi but was born in South Korea. Yesterday, he left for the North Korean capital Pyongyang with his parents to deliver a simple but potent peace request to Kim Jong-il. They received the rare travel visas to the country the night before, despite the fact the U.S. still has no diplomatic relations with the country, and four Americans have been detained or imprisoned this year for trying to get into the country illegally.

How was he granted such favors? By asking politely in a letter to North and South Korean officials over the summer, including a peace proposal. Just what all teenagers spend their summers doing … or could at least spend part of it doing, with such stunning results just for starters. His plan: to grow a 'Peace Forest' for children to play in the "demilitarized zone" (DMZ) zone between North and South Korea.

Actually, the half-century old DMZ is one of the most heavily guarded areas in the world. Combat-ready troops stand guard on both sides, and the land is strewn with land mines and laced with barbed wire, according to the Associated Press. Jonathan's vision is to have the children's Peace Forest to be "one in which fruit and chestnut trees would be planted and where children can play." Apparently, he has already proposed the idea to former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung when he met him three years ago.

Jonathan's quest for peace is a brave one, and as far as I know historically unprecedented. While the notion and practice of "citizen diplomacy" has gained ground in recent years, the only time youth are involved is in a "for the sake of" mode. Jonathan's courageous initiative could be just the tip of the iceberg if we find more ways to put our youth's creativity, energy and intelligence to peace purposes.

Photo Credit: yeowatzup