The recent Six Party talks between China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), the Republic of Korea, Japan, Russia and the United States, concluded with a positive joint statement.The talks, the Fifth Round of the Talks, concluded in Beijing, China on February 13 after six days. The joint statement provides steps to normalize U.S. relations with the DPRK and to remove all nuclear weapons from the peninsula. This is a positive development for the people of Korea, the peoples of East Asia and the entire world.
Western media reporting on the talk and the joint statement suggested 1) relief that the U.S. was engaging in diplomacy with the DPRK rather than threatening a pre-emptive nuclear strike and 2) that the DPRK is engaging the world community in nuclear blackmail to get concessions. Both suggestions are misleading and aimed at continuing to isolate the DPRK. They serve to exonerate the role of the U.S. as the cause of instability in Asia and as the country that poses the nuclear threat in the region and worldwide.
The reality of the U.S. threat can be seen in its continued military exercises in the region, including that of its nuclear-strike forces. It is the U.S. that has refused to implement previous agreements and it is the U.S. that must be held to account now. The talks and joint statement were accomplished as a result of the principled stand of the DPRK, which forced the U.S. to the negotiating table. They represent the aspirations of all Koreans and the worlds’ people for peace.
All peace and justice loving people in the U.S. and worldwide must ensure that the U.S. does nothing to sabotage the provisions of the joint statement. For Americans this means stepping up the fight to bring all U.S. troops home now and to demand that the U.S. remove its nuclear weapons, from the land, sea and air. Just as in Iraq and Iran, peace can be found with the removal of U.S. troops and weapons. The U.S. must also immediately act to normalize relations and end its sanctions and war games against the DPRK. It must end the occupation of Korea and join in supporting the peaceful reunification of Korea. This is the demand of the peoples, here and worldwide.
End U.S. Provocations
As long as the Six-Party Talks are aimed at the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean peninsula so as to secure peace and stability in East Asia, there is no reason why progress cannot be achieved. All these meetings have taken place in Beijing, hosted by China. The first round took place in August 2003, the second in February 2004, the third in June 2004 and the fourth was held in two sessions — the first phase in July/August 2005 and the second phase in September 2005.
At the second phase of the fourth round a Joint Statement was issued and this too was a positive development. But before the ink was even dry on the document the U.S. imperialists sabotaged the agreement by unilaterally accusing the DPRK of money laundering U.S. funds through a Macau bank. This resulted in a breakdown of talks and of the Fifth Round of Six-Party Talks begun in November 2005.
The DPRK has participated in these talks despite every effort by the U.S. and its main ally in East Asia, Japan, to scuttle the talks by spreading disinformation about the DPRK. The U.S. has also used numerous other provocations, such as aiming its “Global Strike” nuclear force at Korea, sending Stealth nuclear bombers, increasing the submarines and battleships in the region and so forth.
The U.S. repeatedly tries to find any pretext to justify a war on the Korean peninsula, so as to block Korean reunification and keep Korea under U.S. control. A recent example of this is U.S. refusal to eliminate the UN Command, a relic from the days of the U.S. war against Korea in 1950-53. The U.S. is insisting on maintaining it and again using the UN as a cover in the event the U.S. launches a second war against Korea. The U.S. is also refusing to even turn control of south Korean troops over to the south Koreans, as promised.
Despite all these provocations, the DPRK has demonstrated its commitment to these talks and to diplomatic resolutions to the problems. Peace and justice loving people must demand that the U.S. not negate the gains that have been made. The tense and dangerous situation on the Korean peninsula, as in Iraq, Iran and the whole Middle East has its source in the U.S. imperialist efforts to establish a world empire. Occupying the entire Korean peninsula is the means of controlling East Asia and bringing the whole world under its dictate. Now is the time to bring all U.S. troops home from Korea, Iraq, and all U.S. bases worldwide.
Support Korean Reunification
All US Troops Home Now!
Normalize Relations Now!.
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Chairman’s Statement of the Third Session
of the Fifth Round of Six-Party Talks
The Third Session of the Fifth Round of the Six-Party Talks was held in Beijing with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), the Russian Federation and the United States of America from February 8 to 13, 2007.
Mr. Wu Dawei, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the PRC, Mr. Kim Gye Gwan, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK; Mr. Kenichiro Sasae, Director General for Asian and Oceanian Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan; Mr. Chun Yung-woo, Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs of the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Mr. Alexander Losyukov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation; and Mr. Christopher Hill, Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the Department of State of the United States attended the talks as heads of their respective delegations.
Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei chaired the talks.
I. The Parties held serious and productive discussions on the actions each party will take in the initial phase for the implementation of the Joint Statement of September 19, 2005. The Parties reaffirmed their common goal and will to achieve early denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner and reiterated that they would earnestly fulfill their commitments in the Joint Statement. The Parties agreed to take coordinated steps to implement the Joint Statement in a phased manner in line with the principle of “action for action.”
II. The Parties agreed to take the following actions in parallel in the initial phase:
1. The DPRK will shut down and seal for the purpose of eventual abandonment the Yongbyon nuclear facility, including the reprocessing facility and invite back IAEA personnel to conduct all necessary monitoring and verifications as agreed between IAEA and the DPRK.
2. The DPRK will discuss with other parties a list of all its nuclear programs as described in the Joint Statement, including plutonium extracted from used fuel rods, that would be abandoned pursuant to the Joint Statement.
3. The DPRK and the U.S. will start bilateral talks aimed at resolving pending bilateral issues and moving toward full diplomatic relations. The U.S. will begin the process of removing the designation of the DPRK as a state-sponsor of terrorism and advance the process of terminating the application of the Trading with the Enemy Act with respect to the DPRK.
4. The DPRK and Japan will start bilateral talks aimed at taking steps to normalize their relations in accordance with the Pyongyang Declaration, on the basis of the settlement of unfortunate past and the outstanding issues of concern.
5. Recalling Section 1 and 3 of the Joint Statement of September 19, 2005, the Parties agreed to cooperate in economic, energy and humanitarian assistance to the DPRK. In this regard, the Parties agreed to the provision of emergency energy assistance to the DPRK in the initial phase. The initial shipment of emergency energy assistance equivalent to 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil (HFO) will commence within next 60 days.
The Parties agreed that the above-mentioned initial actions will be implemented within next 60 days and that they will take coordinated steps toward this goal.
III. The Parties agreed on the establishment of the following Working Groups (WG) in order to carry out the initial actions and for the purpose of full implementation of the Joint Statement:
1. Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula
2. Normalization of DPRK-U.S. relations
3. Normalization of DPRK-Japan relations
4. Economic and Energy Coopera tion
5. Northeast Asia Peace and Security Mechanism
The WGs will discuss and formulate specific plans for the implementation of the Joint Statement in their respective areas. The WGs shall report to the Six-Party Heads of Delegation Meeting on the progress of their work. In principle, progress in one WG shall not affect progress in other WGs. Plans made by the five WGs will be implemented as a whole in a coordinated manner. The Parties agreed that all WGs will meet within next 30 days.
IV. During the period of the Initial Actions phase and the next phase — which includes provision by the DPRK of a complete declaration of all nuclear programs and disablement of all existing nuclear facilities, including graphite-moderated reactors and reprocessing plant — economic, energy and humanitarian assistance up to the equivalent of 1 million tons of heavy fuel oil (HFO), including the initial shipment equivalent to 50,000 tons of HFO, will be provided to the DPRK. The detailed modalities of the said assistance will be determined through consultations and appropriate assessments in the Working Group on Economic and Energy Cooperation.
V. Once the initial actions are implemented, the Six Parties will promptly hold a ministerial meeting to confirm implementation of the Joint Statement and explore ways and means for promoting security cooperation in Northeast Asia.
VI. The Parties reaffirmed that they will take positive steps to increase mutual trust, and will make joint efforts for lasting peace and stability in Northeast Asia. The directly related parties will negotiate a permanent peace regime on the Korean Peninsula at an appropriate separate forum.
VII. The Parties agreed to hold the Sixth Round of the Six-Party Talks on 19 March 2007 to hear reports of the WGs and discuss on actions for the next phase.[TOP]
DPRK Invites UN Nuclear Chief for Visit
The United Nations news service reports that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has invited the head of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamed ElBaradei to visit the DPRK for talks in March. The invitation is part of the DPRK’s stand to implement the recent agreements from the Six-Party talks in Beijing, involving the DPRK, the Republic of Korea, China, Japan, the Russian Federation and the United States.
ElBaradei said he saw the invitation as a step toward denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, on an official visit to Vienna, Austria, where the IAEA is headquartered, welcomed the move. “This is an encouraging development,” he said.
“I hope that the DPRK may eventually come back as a member of the IAEA,” Mr. ElBaradei told a joint news conference with Mr. Ban. “We will discuss issues of mutual concern and how we can implement the agreement reached at the Six-Party talks about the shut down and eventual abandonment of the Yongbyon nuclear facility, including the reprocessing facility.” He said he looked forward to “seeing the DPRK come back to the Agency as full members where we can not only provide verification but provide also assistance in many areas in terms of nuclear technology and nuclear safety.”
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7th Assembly of Asian Parliaments for Peace
DPRK Stands for Peace
The stand of the DPRK to contribute to peace and security in East Asia has been consistent. In the second week of November, Choe Thae Bok, chairman of the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK, led the delegation of the DPRK to the 7th Assembly of the Association of Asian Parliaments for Peace held in Iran. In a speech to its plenary meeting on November 13 he called on the parliamentarians representing the voices of the Asian people “to thoroughly reject the moves of the hegemonic forces to stamp out the history, culture and tradition of Asia, place the common denominators above their differences and demonstrate the united strength of the region in one voice in the international arena under the slogan of solidarity, peace and justice of Asia.”
He added that the struggle of the Korean people to achieve the reunification and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is now facing a grave challenge. The Bush administration, in particular, openly listed the DPRK as part of an “axis of evil” and a target of preemptive nuclear attack and has since escalated the threat and pressure upon the DPRK such as staging nuclear war exercises and imposing financial sanctions against it, bringing to light an attempt to bring down its social system, Choe said.
Addressing the DPRK’s nuclear test, Choe explained:
“Under the extremely tense situation where the supreme interests and security of the DPRK were seriously threatened the DPRK successfully conducted on October 9 an underground nuclear test under secure conditions as an exercise of its sovereign right to self-defense to cope with the U.S. nuclear threat, sanctions and pressure.
“The DPRK will surely force the Bush administration to shoulder its historic responsibility for having torpedoed the process of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
“The DPRK remains unchanged in its stand to peacefully realize the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and negotiation though it was compelled to conduct the nuclear test by the U.S.
“As the DPRK has already clarified, its nuclear weapons are a war deterrent for self-defense to cope with the U.S. nuclear threat and sanctions which have reached an extreme phase and it will feel no need to keep even a single nuke if the U.S. ceases its nuclear threat and sanctions against the DPRK in a verifiable and trustworthy manner. Availing ourselves of this opportunity, we express thanks to the Asian people who sent support and solidarity to our people in their struggle for the peace, reunification and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and believe that the invariable will of the DPRK for the denuclearization and the independent option of its people to protect the supreme interests of the state will receive well-deserved respect.”
“We will as always unite closely with the Asian people and make a positive contribution to peace, security, independent development and prosperity of Asia.”
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For Your Information
2005 Joint Statement of the Fourth Round
of Six-Party Talks
The Fourth Round of the Six-Party Talks was held in Beijing, China among the People’s Republic of China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), the Republic of Korea (ROK), Japan, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America from July 26th to August 7th, and from September 13th to 19th, 2005.
Mr. Wu Dawei, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the PRC, Mr. Kim Kye Gwan, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK; Mr. Kenichiro Sasae, Director General for Asian and Oceanian Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan; Mr. Song Min-soon, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the ROK; Mr. Alexandr Alekseyev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation; and Mr. Christopher Hill, Assistant Secretary of the State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the United States attended the talks as heads of their respective delegations. Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei chaired the talks.
For the cause of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia at large, the Six Parties held, in the spirit of mutual respect and equality, serious and practical talks concerning the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula on the basis of the common understanding of the previous three rounds of the talks, and agreed, in this context, to the following:
1. The Six Parties unanimously reaffirmed that the goal of the Six-Party talks is the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner. The DPRK committed to abandoning all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs and returning, at an early date, to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.
The United States affirmed that it has no nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula and has no intention to attack or invade the DPRK with nuclear or conventional weapons.
The ROK reaffirmed its commitment not to receive or deploy nuclear weapons in accordance with the 1992 Joint Declaration of the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, while affirming that there exist no nuclear weapons within its territory.
The 1992 Joint Declaration of the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula should be observed and implemented.
The DPRK stated that it has the right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The other parties expressed their respect and agreed to discuss, at an appropriate time, t he subject of the provision of light water reactor to the DPRK.
2. The Six Parties undertook, in their relations, to abide by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and recognized norms of international relations.
The DPRK and the United States undertook to respect each other’s sovereignty, exist peacefully together, and take steps to normalize their relations subject to their respective bilateral policies.
The DPRK and Japan undertook to take steps to normalize their relations in accordance with the Pyongyang Declaration, on the basis of the settlement of unfortunate past and the outstanding issues of concern.
3. The Six Parties undertook to promote economic cooperation in the fields of energy, trade and investment, bilaterally and/or multilaterally.
China, Japan, ROK, Russia and the U.S. stated their willingness to provide energy assistance to the DPRK.
The ROK reaffirmed its proposal of July 12th 2005 concerning the provision of 2 million kilowatts of electric power to the DPRK.
4. The Six Parties committed to joint efforts for lasting peace and stability in Northeast Asia.
The directly related parties will negotiate a permanent peace regime on the Korean Peninsula at an appropriate separate forum. The Six Parties agreed to explore ways and means for promoting security cooperation in Northeast Asia.
5. The Six Parties agreed to take coordinated steps to implement the afore-mentioned consensus in a phased manner in line with the principle of “commitment for commitment, action for action.”
6. The Six Parties agreed to hold the Fifth Round of the Six-Party Talks in Beijing in early November 2005 at a date to be determined through consultations .[TOP]
Entire Korean Nation Steps Up Efforts for Peace, Self-Determination and Independent,
Peaceful Reunification
Since the beginning of 2007, Koreans from north, south and overseas have been discussing and taking measures to implement the proposals put forward by the joint editorial of the Pyongyang newspapers Rodong Sinmun (Labor Daily) organ of the Workers’ Party of Korea, Joson Inmingun (Korean People’s Army Daily) and Chongnyon Jonwi (Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League Daily) entitled “Usher in a Great Heyday of Songun Korea Full of Confidence in Victory.”
Noting that this year the Korean people will be celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army, the 95th anniversary of the birth of the founder of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, President Kim Il Sung, as well as the 7th anniversary of the historic June 15 Joint Declaration for the independent, peaceful reunification of Korea — the joint editorial calls on the people of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to wage “a dynamic offensive campaign to build the DPRK as a socialist economic power and continuously exert a great effort to strengthening its defense capabilities, holding aloft the banner of Songun, and consolidating in every way the unity of the revolutionary ranks in thinking and purpose, so as to demonstrate the might of our country as a political and ideological power.”
The joint editorial also calls on the Korean people in the north, south and overseas to wage a determined collective battle to hold high the banner of the historic June 15 Joint Declaration signed in Pyongyang in 2000 to achieve the ardent desire of all Koreans — the independent, peaceful reunification of their country which has been dismembered by the U.S. imperialists since the end of the Second World War. The joint editorial calls for the Korean people to put the interests of the nation first and smash all efforts by alien forces and traitors to keep it divided. It calls on their southern compatriots to step-up the struggle to oust the U.S. military from south Korea, the historic source of the dismemberment of Korea, the continued source of national humiliation and obstacle to Korean reunification and peace in the region. Specifically, the progressive and democratic forces in south Korea are called upon to work to block the possibility of a pro-U.S. candidate from the Grand National Party taking office in the presidential elections that will take place later this year.
The joint editorial also calls for the building of international solidarity between the Korean people and other fighting peoples who are affirming their independence and sovereignty and contributing in this way to world peace and security. It points out that the DPRK will do its duty to fight for the independence and self-determination of humanity in the face of the high-handedness of the imperialist powers, and strive to build peaceful and friendly relations with other nations and peoples.
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Rally Opposes U.S. Base in Korea
People in Seoul, south Korea held yet another rally opposing U.S. bases in Korea and the war exercises currently being organized. Nearly 100 such rallies have been organized. The Koreans are targeting U.S. efforts to expand the base in Phyongthaek and increase U.S. use of what is supposed to be a drilling ground for Korean troops. Various civic groups participated.
Speakers at the rally said that the U.S. war exercise planned for March is, for all intents and purposes, an exercise for a preemptive attack against the north aimed at bringing the DPRK to its knees. They said that the drilling ground in Mugon-ri, which is supposed to be used by the south Korean army, in actuality is operating as a drill ground for U.S. troops based in south Korea, Guam and Okinawa. They vowed to step up their struggle to block any expansion of the drilling ground and the base in general. A resolution read at the rally urged the United States to give up all its war exercises and move toward bringing peace to the Korean Peninsula.
The rally also opposed U.S. efforts to get the Korean government to use public funds to pay for the planned transfer of the Second Division of the U.S. troops stationed in Korea and for the expansion at in Phyongthaek. The demand of the Koreans south and north is for all U.S. troops, bases and weapons to be removed from Korea now.
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South Koreans Oppose U.S. Nuclear Arsenal
South Korea has turned into the biggest nuclear outpost in the Far East with stockpiles of more than 1,000 U.S. nuclear weapons of different types including “Atomic-bombs, nuclear shells and warheads, nuclear mines, backpack nukes and neutron bombs and their delivery means,” a statement issued by the Korean Central Peace Committee pointed out. This fact clearly proves that the U.S. is chiefly to blame for posing the threat of a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula, it said. A spokesman for the committee declared this in a statement released on November 13, 20 years since the U.S. announced that it would deploy in south Korea “Lance” missiles capable of carrying neutron bombs.
The statement said:
“It was none other than the U.S. that introduced nuclear weapons into south Korea for the first time and turned it into a nuclear arsenal and a nuclear outpost. It has barred the denuclearization of the peninsula and put the Korean nation in constant danger of a nuclear war.
“It is quite preposterous for the U.S. to take issue with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) over its just nuclear deterrent for self-defense, while keeping mum about the criminal nuclear arms build-up it has perpetrated for years.
“The U.S. is contemplating shipping into south Korea not only tactical nuclear weapons but strategic nuclear weapons, more frantically stepping up its moves for a nuclear war under the pretext of the DPRK’s possession of a nuclear deterrent. This patently proves that the U.S. nuclear ambition not only remains unchanged but poses an increasing danger.
“All Koreans should turn out in the struggle to frustrate the U.S. moves to stifle the DPRK and launch a nuclear war and stage fierce anti-U.S. resistance in different parts of the country. The U.S. should drop its foolish aim to bring the Korean people to their knees and withdraw its forces and all its nuclear war equipment from south Korea without delay.”
In related news, the People for Achieving Peace and Reunification in south Korea held the 64th Rally for Peace and Disarmament in front of the Defense Ministry building in Seoul on January 30. The rally condemned the military authorities for the arms buildup that is inciting a war crisis on the Korean Peninsula since the start of 2006. Speakers at the rally referred to the fact that at the beginning of the year the Defense Ministry, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Headquarters and the Office for Defense Affairs announced one after another plans for large-scale weapons systems, including the introduction of F-15Ks, establishment of the Missile Defense system, development of assault helicopters and introduction of unmanned reconnaissance planes.
The military authorities are pushing the situation on the Korean Peninsula to the verge of war since the beginning of the year by following the U.S. war policy, and such moves can never be allowed, said the organization. A written protest was read out at the rally in denunciation of the Defense Ministry’s scheme for armament.
The group expressed its determination to get the plans scrapped, in solidarity with the peace-loving forces at home and abroad. A street demonstration was held to end the rally.
On February 2, many organizations in south Korea, including the People for Achieving Peace and Reunification, the southern Headquarters of the National Alliance for the Country’s Reunification, the All-People Measures Committee for Checking the Expansion of the U.S. Military Base in Phyongthaek, and other civic and public organizations, held a press conference in front of the Ministry of National Defense to demand a stop to the illegal moves to expand the U.S. military base in Phyongthaek. A press release was read out that recalled the recent demand of the commander of the U.S. forces in south Korea on January 18 that a 50 percent share of the defense burden on the part of south Korea was needed for the transfer of the U.S. Second Division to Phyongthaek.
This means that the cost of the relocation of the U.S. Second Division will be covered out of the budget of the south Korean government, it said, branding the expansion of the U.S. military base in Phyongthaek as illegal.
The press release denounced “the sycophantic and treacherous act of the government to deceive the people” by paying the relocation cost in the name of carrying its “share of the burden” for the upkeep of the U.S. forces.[TOP]
International Meeting Opposes
U.S. Targeting of Korea
An international meeting held recently in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) demanded that the U.S. stop its provocations and hostile policies against Korea. The meeting was co-sponsored by the International Liaison Committee for Reunification and Peace in Korea and the Korean Committee for Solidarity with the World’s Peoples.
The meeting was attended by delegations from various international groups, such as the World Peace Council, and organizations for friendship and solidarity with the Korean people from countries of Asia, Europe, Africa, Americas, and Oceania.
Delegates from the Korean Committee for Solidarity with the World’s Peoples, the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea, the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League, the Korean Democratic Women’s Union, the Korean Democratic Lawyers Association, the Korean National Peace Committee, the Korean Committee for Solidarity with Asia and Africa and officials concerned all participated.
The meeting condemned and exposed the injustice of the hostile and outdated U.S. policy toward the DPRK, emphasizing that it is the U.S. that is the source of the tense situation and danger of war on the Korean Peninsula. Participants also discussed work to ensure peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the rest of Northeast Asia.
The floor was taken first by Raymond Ferguson, national secretary general of the Australia-DPRK Friendship and Cultural Association.
Kamal Haider, vice-president of the World Peace Council, in a keynote report, said that it is the unanimous desire of the Korean people and the world’s progressive forces to eliminate the danger of war from the Korean Peninsula bring lasting peace to the region. He said it is U.S. interference and actions that are threatening the people. He said U.S. actions are an attack on sovereignty and the crimes against the DPRK and all of Korea, present and past are unprecedented. They represent a gross violation of the United Nations Charter and international law calling for upholding the principle of respect for sovereignty, non-interference in other’s internal affairs, territorial integrity, non-aggression and equality and mutual benefit among sovereign states. He added that it would be positive for the U.S. in meeting its own national interests to end its hostile policy toward the DPRK and withdraw its forces from south Korea.
Mun Jae Chol, chairman of the Korean Committee for Solidarity with the World’s Peoples, the nature of the U.S. policy lies, above all, in its aim to commit state-sponsored terrorism, to attack and bring down the dignified socialist system centered on the popular masses and chosen by the Korean people themselves.
This policy is a policy of aggression aimed at stifling and controlling the DPRK by force of arms and an anti -reunification policy aimed at totally blocking the reconciliation and unity and cooperation and exchanges between the north and the south of Korea. The meeting condemned U.S. policies and called for all progressive forces to support reunification of Korea and for the U.S. to end all its sanctions and military threats.
Speeches were given by Anders Kristensen, Secretary General of the Nordic Cooperation Committee for Friendship and Solidarity with the Korean People, Daniel Alvarez Celi, Chairman of the Ecuadorian Committee for Supporting Korea’s Independent and Peaceful Reunification, Abdel Azim El Maghraby, Assistant Secretary General of the Arab Lawyers Union, and others.
An appeal to the world progressives that love justice and peace was adopted at the meeting.
It calls for a vigorous world-wide campaign demanding the U.S. abandon its policy towards the DPRK, a policy of high-handed and arbitrary practices.
It also calls for staging in different parts of the world a movement for exposing the injustice of the U.S. forces’ presence in south Korea and forcing it to withdraw its troops from south Korea.
It calls for positively supporting the Korean people in their just cause of defending peace on the Korean Peninsula and independently reunifying Korea in every way.
A message to the U.S. Congress was also adopted at the meeting.
It warns that if the U.S. Congress overlooks the policy of the present administration aimed at settling all issues by force of arms, prompted by its unilateral and self-serving way of thinking, it will not be able to escape protest and condemnation from the world progressive movement and international isolation and it will find itself in a tighter corner.
It is our expectation that you will exercise influence upon the present administration to make a new and positive about-face in its policy towards the DPRK, and give serious consideration to the heavy responsibility and duty you have assumed before your people as elected politicians, it said.
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U.S. Plans for Nuclear Strikes Against North Korea
Following the withdrawal of non-strategic nuclear weapons from south Korea, [in 1991, according to government statements] U.S. nuclear planning against north Korea has continued to evolve. Employment of non-strategic bombs against the north is now the responsibility of fighter wings based in the continental United States. Other nuclear planning involves Trident submarines and long-range strategic bombers.
The 2001 Nuclear Posture Review identified north Korea as an “immediate contingency” that sets requirements for U.S. nuclear strike capabilities, and the assignment of the Global Strike mission to U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) in 2003 led to the creation of CONPLAN 8022, a new preemptive strike plan that has north Korea (among others) in the crosshairs. Finally, the north Korean nuclear test in October 2006 reaffirmed these planning requirements and triggered a strong reaffirmation of U.S. extended nuclear deterrence policy in the region.
Fighter-Bombers
The last known nuclear weapons certification inspection of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing at Kunsan Air Base occurred in the first half of 1991. The wing’s history for the period January-June 1991 states that the weapons division at the base passed special Air Force training and inspections. These were needed for the wing to be certified to store and handle nuclear weapons on the base.
The history also describes that U.S. pilots at Kunsan Air Base underwent nuclear strike training. This consisted of general nuclear strike qualification, and “single-ship nuclear strikes.” A total of 48 F-16C/D aircraft were stationed at Kunsan at the time, some of which were equipped to deliver B61 nuclear bombs stored at the base. After the withdrawal of the nuclear weapons in December 1991, the nuclear certification of the wing was allowed to expire.
Since then, strike planning against north Korea with non-strategic nuclear weapons has been the responsibility of fighter wings based in the continental United States. One of these is the 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina. During the first half of 1998, according to the 4th FW command history, a total of 18 F-15E Strike Eagle fighter bombers of the 336th Fighter Squadron were scrambled (“generated”) in a Nuclear Employment Exercise (NEM) that simulated a nuclear strike against north Korea. Instead of flying to Korea, the aircraft dropped their BDU-38 dummy nuclear bombs at the Avon Park Bombing Range in Florida. The scenario was described by the wing commander:
“We simulated fighting a war in Korea, using a Korean scenario. The scenario...simulated a decision by the National Command Authority about considering using nuclear weapons....We identified aircraft, crews, and [weapon] loaders to load up tactical nuclear weapons onto our aircraft....[The] last phase of the exercise, the employment phase...required us to fly those airplanes down to a range in Florida and drop” the BDU-38s.
This scenario was exercised twice during the period and also formed the basis of the wing’s nuclear certification inspection.
Ballistic Missile Submarines and Long-Range Bombers
In addition to non-strategic air delivered bombs, sea-launched ballistic missiles onboard strategic Ohio-class submarines (SSBNs) patrolling in the Pacific appear also to have a mission against north Korea. A Department of Defense (DOD) General Inspector report from 1998 listed the Trident system as a “mission critical system” identified by U.S. Pacific Command and U.S. Forces Korea as “being of particular importance to them.”
Although the primary mission of the Trident system is directed against targets in Russia and China, a D5 missile launched in a low-trajectory flight provides a unique very short notice (12-13 minutes) strike capability against time-critical targets in north Korea. No other U.S. nuclear weapon system can get a warhead on target that fast. Two to three SSBNs are on “hard alert” in the Pacific at any given time, holding Russian, Chinese and north Korean targets at risk from designated patrol areas.
Long-range strategic bombers may also be assigned a nuclear strike role against north Korea although little specific is known. An Air Force map, however, suggests a B-2 strike role against north Korea.
B-2 Strike Planning Against Korea
As the designated carrier of the B61-11 earth penetrating nuclear bomb and a possible future Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, the B-2 stealth bomber could have an important role against targets in North Korea. Recent upgrades enable planning of a new B-2 nuclear strike mission in less than 8 hours.
The capability of the B-2 bomber to conduct short-notice nuclear strikes has been improved in recent years. Until the late 1990s, planning and processing of a Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP) sortie with a B-2 bomber took approximately 25 hours. In 1998, modernization was underway for a 50 percent increase in performance by providing three times faster hardware and software fixes. And in November 1998, STRATCOM ordered that the Operational Requirement Document for the B-2 be updated to allow even shorter timelines for nuclear strike missions:
a) Deliberate Planned Missions: no more than 24 hours.
b) Adaptive Planned Mission (Directed Planning Option and Theater Nuclear Option): no more than 8 hours.
While this upgrade is also intended for strike planning against targets in Russia and China, the implication is that planning for a new limited strike sortie against north Korea could be done in less time than it takes for a B-2 to fly from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to north Korea.
The Effect of the 2006 Nuclear Test
The future of U.S. nuclear strike planning against north Korea has attained new importance after Pyongyang conducted a nuclear test in October 2006. The test triggered a strong U.S. reaffirmation of the nuclear umbrella over south Korea and Japan, and appears to have bolstered nuclear (and conventional) planning in the region.
“The United States will meet the full range of our deterrent and security commitments,” President Bush told Japan and south Korea immediately after the test. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice traveled to Northeast Asia where she almost spelled out the n-word, saying that “the United States has the will and the capability to meet the full range — and I underscore full range — of its deterrent and security commitments to Japan.”
Two weeks later, William Arkin disclosed that a revision of CONPLAN 5029 had begun to create additional preemptive conventional strike options against north Korean “Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)” activities. The Washington Times picked up on that lead and reported that conventional strike planning had been underway for months before the test, but was now accelerating. Nuclear strikes were considered excessive, a Pentagon official told the paper, but another senior defense official reaffirmed the nuclear umbrella and that the United States “will resort to whatever force levels we need to have, to defend the Republic of Korea. That nuclear deterrence is in place.”
The United States pledged in the Joint Statement of the Fourth Round of the Six-Party Talks on September 19, 2005, that it “has no intention to attack...[north Korea] with nuclear...weapons.” To the extent that continued nuclear strike planning represents an “intent” to attack, however, such planning contradicts the Joint Statement.
On November 18, 2005, the new Space and Global Strike command became operational at STRATCOM after passing testing in a nuclear war exercise involving north Korea. […]
The Nuclear Information Project is an education project with the American Federation of Scientists.[TOP]
Continuous U.S. War Exercises Against DPRK
For several months, the U.S. imperialists have been staging air war exercises targeted against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). South Korean air-space has been used as a main theater for the war games. On November 15 and 16 B-52s took off from a base in Guam and flew over the Nyongwol and Thaebaek areas for hours for bomb-dropping exercises and long-distance flight drills. An E-3 took off from Kadena base in Okinawa and flew over the Kumsan, Yongdong, Ansong and Kongju areas on November 16 to command flying corps engaged in air war exercises.
More than 20 overseas-based F-15s and F/A-18s flew into U.S. bases in south Korea on November 16 and 17 before staging take-off and landing exercises and exercises for striking targets.
In January the U.S. launched another mock air strike against the DPRK, using B-52 warplanes. The B-52’s, which can carry nuclear weapons, flew about 2485 miles from their base in Guam in the Pacific Ocean. The warplanes crossed in pairs over south Korean airspace, carrying out a mock air raid against the DPRK’s ground targets. The drill was carried out in coordination with F-16 and A-10 warplane flights belonging to the 7th U.S. Air Force, stationed in south Korea.
Also in January, the U.S. transferred a wing of F-117 Stealth fighter bombers which includes 15-24 bombers and more than 300 support personnel to south Korea from the U.S. mainland. This war machinery will likely be part of a large-scale U.S.-south Korea joint military maneuvers planned for March.
Reflecting the dangers these war games pose to Koreans, Rodong Sinmun of the DPRK wrote:
“This is clear proof that the U.S. imperialists are busy preparing a war against the DPRK behind the scenes of the Six-Party talks. This arms buildup is a reckless military move challenging the desire and will of all the Koreans and the world progressive movement aspiring for peace and security on the Korean Peninsula.
“The U.S. imperialist warmongers claim that their introduction of the ill-famed fighter bombers into south Korea is ‘part of ordinary exercises’ and ‘routine rotating deployment’ but this is nothing but an artifice to cover up their dangerous scenario.
“The present relations between the DPRK and the U.S. and the resultant tense situation prevailing on the Korean Peninsula require the U.S. to make choices helpful to the solution to the issue. Unilateral and provocative actions do nothing but deteriorate the situation. Even so, the U.S. is contemplating the largest-ever military exercises targeted against the DPRK by mobilizing Stealth fighter bombers, while disturbing the peaceful settlement of the nuclear issue between the two sides, using an unreasonable pretext. It is clear to everybody that this reveals the U.S. sinister intention to torpedo the Six-Party talks and do harm to the DPRK through preemptive attacks on it.
“The U.S. would be well-advised to face up to the reality. It had better remove at once the war machinery including F-117 Stealth fighter bombers from south Korea, halt its reckless war moves against the DPRK and withdraw its aggressive forces from south Korea as early as possible.”
As part of these war drills more than 110 cases of aerial espionage were committed against the DPRK during the month of January by the U.S. During the same period south Korean forces perpetrated at least 70 cases of similar aerial espionage during the month, bringing their total number to more than 180.
The U.S. imperialists sent two south Korea-based U-2s to make simultaneous shuttle flights above Tokjok Islet and the areas of Phochon and Sokcho to spy on the interior of the DPRK on January 24 and 26 respectively.
Four RC-12s made long flights above the areas of Kimpho, Hwachon and Sokcho to spy on the DPRK on January 16, 23 and 28. A Japan-based EP-3 flew above Taebu Islet and areas of Chunchon and Yangyang to spy on the coastal and other areas of the DPRK on the nights of January 8, 12, 17 and 22. Additional spy planes were used for intensive observation on January 23, 24 and 25.
On February 1 and 2, more than 250 F-16 fighter bombers and A-10 assault planes of the U.S 7th Air Force base occupying south Korea flew over the Kunsan, Ronsan, Chonan, Tangjin, Wonju, Ryechon and Phyongchang areas, engaging in more war drills of air combat, close air support and strikes on land targets.
At the same time, the U.S. imperialists have been busy with preparations for deploying F-22A Raptor Stealth fighter bombers in their Kadena airbase in Okinawa, Japan, while planning to send the extra-large aircraft carrier USS Reagan to the Yokosuka Port of Japan, in addition to the carrier USS Kitty Hawk which is already there.
Timed to coincide with this, Guam-based B-52s are making shuttle flights between the U.S. mainland and the island in long-distance flight exercises targeted at the Korean Peninsula.
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Eliminate UN Command Korea —
Instrument of U.S. Aggression
The U.S. imperialists are attempting a “reorganization of the United Nations Command, Korea, claiming the need to maintain “wartime command” of all military operations. The call to maintain control is directly against demands from the south Korean government to turn control of south Korean troops over to south Korea. It is an open effort to perpetuate U.S. military domination over south Korea and position the U.S. to invade Korea and again drag the UN and its member states into its aggression, as occurred in the 1950-53 war against Korea.
U.S. General B. B. Bell, in a recent press conference, emphasized the U.S. demand to keep wartime control of the UN Command. Bell is currently commander of the UN Command, Korea; Republic Of Korea-United States Combined Forces Command; and United States Forces, Korea (numbering 28,000 troops).
Under existing agreements between the U.S. and south Korea, Bell would command south Korean forces if war broke out. The south Koreans are calling for the U.S. to turn over wartime command of south Korean troops to the south Koreans and to do so no later than 2012. Bell is publicly opposing the plan, claiming the U.S. needs “automatic access to south Korean troops.” He also says U.S. retention of UN Command will “keep the lines open for UN member nations to contribute forces and supplies in a war.” He dismissed calls to eliminate the UN Command altogether, even though it is a relic of the 1950-53 U.S. war against Korea. It was used then and now for aggressive purposes, contrary to the UN charter. The UN Command Korea should be eliminated and the U.S. called to account for its crimes and occupation against Korea.
On January 27, the DPRK’s Rodong Sinmun in a signed commentary brought out:
“The U.S. bravado about transfer of the ‘right to command wartime operations’ is, in fact, nothing but empty talk because its real aim is to continue exercising the right to control the south Korean army by reinforcing the ‘UN Command.’
“His remarks on the ‘reorganization of the UN Command’ prove that the U.S. does not intend to transfer the above-said right and the much touted transfer is nothing but a charade to check the movement for independence from the U.S. mounting in south Korea.
“Lurking behind the U.S. imperialists’ scheme for the ‘reorganization of the UN Command’ is a criminal aim to speed up the preparations for a war against the DPRK and use the south Korean army as a shock brigade for such a war.
“The U.S. imperialist warmongers have long worked hard to revive and reinforce the defunct ‘UN Command,’ talking about ‘the increased role’ of the countries which participated in the Korean war and ‘the formation of a multinational staff’ capable of closing the ranks of their allies. The U.S. imperialists are keen to put the south Korean army under ‘the new combined command system’ of the above-said multi national mechanism for invasion of the DPRK under the pretext of the transfer of the ‘right to command wartime operations.’ The U.S. moves to reorganize and reinforce the ‘UN Command’ for the purpose of igniting the second Korean war and placing the south Korean army under it go to prove that it is keen to force south Korea to fall victim to the nuclear war against the DPRK.
“The ‘UN Command’ should not be ‘reorganized’ but be completely dismantled. The U.S. imperialist aggressor troops should quit south Korea at an early date, taking with them all their nuclear war hardware.”
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Hopeful Signs for Peace in Korea
Hope s have risen again for a peaceful solution to the nuclear crisis on the Korean peninsula following a landmark agreement reached at the Six Party talks in the Chinese capital Beijing on February 13. According to the agreement, signed by representatives of North and South Korea, the United States, China, Russia and Japan, the DPRK (north Korea) will “shut down and seal for the purpose of eventual abandonment the Yongbyon nuclear facility, including the reprocessing facility, and invite back IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) personnel to conduct all necessary monitoring and verifications.”
The DPRK further commits to discuss with the other parties a list of all its nuclear programs.
In exchange for this, the DPRK and the U.S. will start bilateral talks aimed at moving toward the establishment of full diplomatic relations. The U.S. will also move toward taking the DPRK off its notorious list of “terrorist states,” and to stop applying the Trading with the Enemy Act, under which Washington has imposed crippling sanctions on Pyongyang for decades.
A similar diplomatic process will take place with Japan.
As north Korea takes steps to dismantle its nuclear program, the other parties have agreed to provide the country with economic, energy and humanitarian assistance up to the equivalent of one million tons of heavy fuel oil, with an initial shipment equivalent to 50,000 tons.
The parties agreed to meet again on March 19 to review progress and to discuss the next steps in the regional peace process.
It was separately agreed that representatives of the United States and the DPRK would meet within 30 days to resolve the problem of banking sanctions imposed by the U.S. on DPRK financial institutions and international banks doing business with them.
The Bush administration has long refused to engage in serious negotiations with the DPRK. It ripped up a series of previous agreements reached by the Clinton administration and labeled the country part of the “axis of evil.”
Following intensive diplomatic efforts by China and others, a previous agreement was reached in the Six Party talks in September 2005. But that agreement was promptly sabotaged by the Bush administration, which imposed sanctions on a bank in the autonomous Chinese territory of Macao that had been handling much of north Korea’s foreign trade.
With the talks process deadlocked as a result, north Korea pressed ahead with its nuclear program, carrying out a series of missile launches and finally a small nuclear test last October.
The response by the United States and Japan was to go to the United Nations, pressing for the imposition of punitive sanctions against Pyongyang, possibly as a prelude to military action.
This objective was effectively frustrated by skillful diplomacy on the part of China and Russia, who made it clear that excessively punitive sanctions would be vetoed, and explicitly refused any hint of the use of armed force, while consenting to the imposition of limited sanctions, thereby safeguarding a multilateral and diplomatic approach to the problem and restraining the United States from recklessly escalating the crisis and going outside the framework of international law to assemble another “coalition of the willing” with such countries as Japan, Australia and Britain.
All this was a considerable blow to the die-hard neo-conservative forces, whose proponents, such as John Bolton, then still the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, made little attempt to conceal their frustration.
The present agreement therefore represents a considerable setback to the efforts by the United States to escalate tension in the region and to isolate and threaten north Korea. It represents a vindication both of north Korea’s determination to stand up in defense of its dignity and of the determination of China, Russia and South Korea to pursue a peaceful, diplomatic solution.
It has been broadly welcomed in the international community.
The South African Foreign Minister said that the agreement is a step in the right direction, which will contribute substantially to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and making the world a safer place.
Russia said that it would give a renewed impetus toward ensuring the ultimate goal of “the Korean Peninsula’s nuclear-free status and to create conditions for strengthening peace and security in Northeast Asia and developing comprehensive cooperation between all states in the region.”
The Irish Foreign Minister expressed the hope that “all sides can maintain the same commitment to the peaceful resolution of all outstanding issues in future talks.”
The new agreement can be said to represent a certain advance on that reached in September 2005. The problem with the latter was that, while it addressed all the major issues of contention, it did so more in the sense of a series of aspirations, without addressing questions of how and when each side should meet its commitments. In a situation characterized by mutual hostility and distrust, this was a significant weakness. Now, there is at least a rudimentary mechanism for the first phase of the process and agreement on ways to discuss the next steps.
But, as welcome as all this is, it is still too early for peace campaigners to relax. There remain many difficult and complex issues to resolve. The Bush administration previously ripped up agreements reached with the DPRK by the Clinton administration in 1994 and 2000.
Already, John Bolton, only reluctantly removed by Bush as his UN Ambassador under pressure from the Democrats, has strongly attacked the deal, saying: “It sends exactly the wrong signal to would-be proliferators around the world. [It says] ‘if we hold out long enough, wear down the State Department negotiators, eventually you get rewarded,’ in this case with massive shipments of heavy fuel oil for doing only partially what needs to be done.”
A similar negative reaction has come from Japan, whose government has been busy talking down the deal and insisting that it will not meet its agreed share of the assistance to be provided to Pyongyang.
It is surely a sign of the crisis and disintegration facing the neo-conservative project that Bush promptly rounded on one-time favored son Bolton, saying, “the assessment made by some that this is not a good deal is flat wrong.[...]
With increasing signs that the United States, backed by Britain, is preparing to unleash an act of aggression against Iran, the progress made in the Beijing talks should underline the fact that even the most difficult and long-standing problems can be resolved on the basis of diplomacy and peaceful negotiations if there is the political will.
Equally, government ministers have sought to justify the planned replacement of Trident [nuclear submarines] by reference to the nuclear programs of Iran and north Korea. This argument, which was always ridiculous, is now also threadbare. If north Korea can move towards honoring the terms of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), then so can Britain [and the U.S.].
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