International People's Tribunal Organizing Committee Invites U.S. and Republic of Korea Governments to Participate in Proceedings on Korean Victims of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Atomic Bombings

LITITZ, Pa., June 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Organizing Committee of the International People's Tribunal (IPT) today formally invited representatives of the United States Government and the Government of the Republic of Korea to participate in this Peoples' Tribunal, which is being convened to highlight the experiences and claims of Korean victims of the 1945 atomic bombings. This group of Atomic Bomb Survivors have been overlooked and now seek recognition, acknowledgment, and redress through international legal accountability.

Letters of invitation were respectfully provided to these two governments in the hope they will send representatives to the Tribunal, which will be held at the Graduate School of Theology, Hanshin University, in Seoul, South Korea, on November 13–15, 2026.

The formal invitations are found on the IPT website (abombtribunal.org). The invitations were jointly signed by the three Co-Chairs of the International Organizing Committee: Bishop Emeritus Kang U-il of Jeju, Archbishop John Charles Wester of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, and Takashi Hiraoka, former Mayor of Hiroshima City.

The Tribunal is organized with the participation of lawyers, scholars, activists, and relevant experts from Korea and abroad. Korean atomic bomb victims will participate as claimants in the proceedings, which will address issues of international legal responsibility arising from the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, as well as the future use and threat of use of nuclear weapons.

The IPT is being organized in recognition of the fact that the experiences of Korean atomic bomb victims—who were victims both of Japanese imperial aggression and colonial rule, and of the atomic bombings carried out by the United States—have not been sufficiently brought to light before the international community.

The IPT also seeks to contribute to international legal discussions concerning the restoration of victims' human rights, including official apologies, compensation, guarantees of non-repetition, and the prohibition of the use and threat of use of nuclear weapons, as well as to broader efforts toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the realization of a world free of nuclear weapons.

CONTACT:

Brad Wolf
U.S. Organizing Committee Contact
Phone: (717) 468-8101
Email: [email protected]

Kihoon Lee
SPARK (Solidarity for Peace and Reunification of Korea)
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE International People’s Tribunal