In 1943, Koreans and Americans gathered at American University for a simple ceremony affirming friendship between our peoples and voicing the hopes for world peace. As we gather here today, we are again on the precipice of world war-a war from which no one may survive. Three years ago, former president Jimmy Carter, calling the United States “the most warlike nation in the history of the world,” said that the United States has only enjoyed 16 years of peace in its 242-year history. This time it is who threatens world peace. But the lesson is clear. As the proponents of environmental peacebuilding understand unless we quickly end this war and find a way to solve problems without resorting to violence, especially in the nuclear age, humans will not long be here to enjoy these beautiful cherry trees or nature’s other gifts to humanity.