Voice of Revolution

Eliminate the U.S. Nuclear Umbrella!
Support Korean Reunification!

The U.S. government is making every effort to paint the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) as a danger to the world. President Barack Obama said that north Korea’s “nuclear and ballistic missile programs pose a grave threat to peace and security of Asia and the world.” This has been repeated by government officials and the monopoly media, in an effort to demonize the DPRK while making it appear the U.S. is not a threat. Since the May test by the DPRK, it is the U.S. that announced a “Joint Vision” for the alliance between the U.S. and Republic of Korea (ROK) that includes keeping the U.S. nuclear umbrella over south Korea. It has sent more modern planes and weapons to its bases in south Korea, including bunker busters and drones. The U.S. also organized to have the United Nations Security Council (USNC) pass a resolution further sanctioning north Korea. The DPRK has defended her sovereingty and unlike the U.S. is conducting no agreesive wars and has no troops, battleships, bombers or nuclear weapons on foreign soil.

Eliminate U.S. Nuclear Umbrella

The “Joint Vision for the Alliance of the U.S. and Republic of Korea,” issued June 16, emphasizes that both countries “Will maintain a robust defense posture, backed by allied capabilities which support both nations’ security interests. The continuing commitment of extended deterrence, including the U.S. nuclear umbrella, reinforces this assurance.” It says the U.S. will provide “an enduring and capable U.S. military force presence on the Korean Peninsula, in the region and beyond.” This military presence includes about 30,000 occupation troops in south Korea and about 50,000 in Japan. It includes battleships, submarines and bombers armed with nuclear weapons, though the U.S. keeps secret their number and location. That the nuclear weapons do exist in the region, however, is the unspoken content of “extended deterrence, including the U.S. nuclear umbrella.”

Obama has not withdrawn the U.S. policy of first-strike use of nuclear weapons, including the specific threats against Iran and north Korea. Indeed, the U.S. is currently positioning its weapons and troops for war in Korea, such as sending drones and bunker busters to its bases in south Korea. As experience in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan shows, drones and bunker busters are offensive weapons, used for targeted assassination and civilian massacres.

The Koreans and Japanese, like the Iraqis and Afghanistanis, are well familiar with U.S. occupation and military might to “secure peace.” The U.S. dropping of nuclear bombs against the Japanese, the brutal war against Korea with its carpet bombing and chemical weapons and civilian massacres, its continued division of Korea against the just desires of the people for reunification, its decades-long occupation of Korea and Japan and now its threat to again use nuclear weapons, all add up to more war and occupation.

In both word and deed, it is the U.S. that is threatening and planning war against Korea, including using its nuclear umbrella. It is the U.S. that is the occupier and has a long history of using its military might against the peoples. The U.S aim is not securing peace — it is world empire. It has and plans to keep an “enduring and capable U.S. military force presence on the Korean Peninsula, in the region and beyond” so as to conquer all of Asia and dominate the world.

Voice of Revolution calls on all to reject U.S. war plans against Korea, just as Americans are rejecting war and use of force against Iraq and Afghanistan. Empire-building has no place in modern times, when what is needed is respect for the rights of all countries to pursue their own course. The north Koreans have never invaded anyone, have no troops outside their country and have consistently stood for peace and reunification of Korea. It is their determined stand against U.S. imperialism that has made them a target.

Nuclear weapons, energy and its uses are issues of grave concern for the world’s people. Serious discussion is required, not fomenting false fears and using the blackmail of threatening to use nuclear weapons. President Obama has said “We are committed to a global effort to pursue the goal of a world without nuclear weapons.” Why not then begin on the Korean peninsula? North Korea has agreed to establish the region as a nuclear-free zone, just as Iran supports doing so in the Middle East. It is the U.S. and Israel that have refused to do so. It is the U.S., with the largest arsenal, that is modernizing its nuclear weapons rather than disarming. It is the U.S. that threatens the use of its nuclear umbrella against Korea and positions its military for such action. The interests of peace and security demand that the U.S. eliminate its nuclear umbrella and remove its nuclear weapons from the Korean peninsula and surrounding area as a concrete step toward the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. This would provide the basis for eliminating nuclear weapons in the region.

Support Korean Reunification

June 15, 2009 marks the ninth anniversary of the historic June 15 North-South Joint resolution of the Korean people to advance the cause of reunification and peace. The resolution ushered in a period of reconciliation, with families united for the first time in 50 years, joint projects developed, student exchanges, and many other important achievements. It signaled a new and irreversible phase in the Korean people’s struggle for reunification based on their own efforts. The June 15 Declaration also belongs to all the peoples of the world who are striving for a world free of U.S. imperialist domination and war, and for each nation to be able to affirm its independence and sovereignty and enjoy peaceful relations with every other nation.

In the nine years since the June 15 Joint Declaration, the great achievement of the Korean movement for reunification has been its steadfastness and adherence to principle in spite of every effort of the U.S. imperialists to sabotage the struggle. Koreans north, south and overseas have united in this effort and won the broad support of peoples worldwide.

It must be appreciated that the U.S. divided Korea after WWII, then instigated the Korean war inflicting untold damage with its carpet-bombing, use of chemical weapons and civilian massacres. Then, losing the war, refused to sign a peace treaty and instead occupied the south and built a wall to divide the country. And now, when Koreans everywhere are celebrating the struggle for reunification and organizing to advance it further, the U.S. issues its “Joint Vision” for its alliance with south Korea designed to prevent reunification. And it did so on June 16, a calculated slap in the face of the movement for reunification.

In addition the U.S. organized and imposed the current south Korean regime of Lee Myung Bak. Obama made a point of saying that the friendship between the U.S. and south Korea “has only grown stronger” under Lee’s leadership. He made these statements while hundreds of thousands of people in south Korea were demonstrating against Lee Myung Makl and demanding he be removed. These massive demonstrations against the anti-people polices of the Lee Myung Bak regime and its undermining of reunification efforts are a reflection of the political consciousness, fighting spirit, unity in action and maturity of the Korean people who refuse to go back. Koreans everywhere, south, north and overseas are refusing to allow the U.S. imperialists to shut the door to reunification andare affirming Korea's collective right to reunification, independence and sovereignty.

Voice of Revolution stands shoulder to shoulder with all Koreans in demanding All U.S. Troops Out of Korea! We demand that the U.S. normalize relations with the DPRK. We call on all to reject every U.S. effort to instigate another war firmly support Korean reunification.

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Withdraw UN Security Council Resolution 1874

In addition to its direct threats to use nuclear weapons in Korea, the U.S. also organized to secure passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSC) 1874 on June 12. The resolution “condemns in the strongest terms the nuclear test conducted by the DPRK on 25 May 2009...” and “demands that the DPRK not conduct any further nuclear test or launch using ballistic missile technology.” The UNSC Resolution calls on “all states to inspect, in accordance to their national authorities and legislation, and consistent with international law, all cargo to and from the DPRK in their territory” if that state has “reasonable grounds to believe that the cargo contains items” linking to so-called “nuclear weapons proliferation.” It calls on member states to impose yet more financial, credit and trade sanctions against the DPRK and calls on the member states of the UN to report within 45 days of the passing of this resolution about “concrete measures they have taken” to implement these sanctions. President Obama said the U.S. “must pursue a sustained and robust effort to implement this resolution together with our international partners.” U.S. UN Ambassador Susan Rice repeatedly emphasized the aggressive character of the sanctions, saying they “will bite in a substantial way.” The DPRK has justly called the passing of such a resolution tantamount to a declaration of war against it and has firmly declared its intention to take counter-measures.

UN Resolution 1874 is yet another example of U.S. led aggression against the DPRK and its right to be, to pursue its own course. For the U.S., defending sovereignty against U.S. demands is a " threat," to be met with armed might. It wants to try and isolate and demonize the DPRK so as to justify aggression against it. This has been the repeated U.S. method, with Iraq, Afghanistan and now Pakistan — to drum up a threat and demonize a country so as to launch war against it. The lies about north Korea as a "threat" are no different.

The UNSC resolution does nothing to stabilize the situation on the Korean peninsula and serves to directly counter the demand of the entire Korean people for peaceful reunification and a nuclear-free Korean peninsula. Indeed, the U.S. action to again emphasize the use of its nuclear umbrella against the Korean people was announced June 16, just a day after June 15 celebrations throughout Korea and abroad supporting reunification and the June 15 Joint Declaration issued in 2000 by representatives from north and south Korea. The “Joint Vision” the U.S. imposed on south Korean will not contribute to reunification or an end to U.S. occupation. Rather it promises an “enduring” and “robust” U.S. military presence. It is this occupation that is the crime and the U.S. the criminal.

The UNSC resolution itself is counter to the norms of international law and consistent with U.S. efforts to wreck international norms and standards. The north Koreans are to be targeted simply on the basis of “reasonable grounds to believe,” they are transporting prohibited cargo. Americans, especially African Americans and youth, are well experienced with just exactly what “reasonable grounds to believe” means. It is just such “reasonable grounds” that give police a license to kill unarmed civilians, to arrest and jail youth guilty of no crimes. More broadly, it has been used to detain hundreds of people at Guantánamo and elsewhere, also guilty of no crime but subject to the U.S. “reasonable grounds to believe,” they are “enemy combatants.” The sanctions against Korea further promote this lawlessness while embroiling other countries in it.

The increased sanctions against north Korea also show the U.S. double standard. For the U.S., its massive nuclear arsenal and its illegal modernizing of its nuclear weapons, its plans for first-strike use, its proliferation of nuclear weapons to Israel and guaranteeing Isreal’s standing as a nuclear power, none of these merit sanctions. North Korea, who is not an aggressor and has used no nuclear weapons against anyone but has stood to defend her sovereignty, is the one to be sanctioned.Using this double standard, the U.S. is attempting to impose its chauvinist outlook that says only U.S. imperialism can provide international security and determine the course of world affairs. It gets to decide who can and cannot have nuclear weapons, conduct trade, and so forth. And anyone who refuses to submit to U.S. dictate constitutes “a threat and danger.” This rotten chauvinism must be rejected. Respect for sovereignty and relations based on equality and mutual repect and benefit are required, not those of a king imposing his empire.

It is the U.S. that poses the biggest threat and danger to world peace, as its continuing wars and plans for more show. It is the U.S. that has nuclear weapons and continually threatens to actually use them. It is using the UN not to further world peace, but to further its aims of world empire.

Voice of -Revolution urges all concerned to demand that UNSC Resolution 1874 be withdrawn and that the U.S. take immediate action to eliminate its nuclear umbrella and disarm its nuclear weapons.

Withdraw UNSC Resolution 1874! Eliminate the U.S. Nuclear Umbrella!

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U.S. Policy Toward North Korea Fails to Engage

Ronda Hauben, OhmyNews, June 12, 2009

U.S. policy toward north Korea since Barack Obama assumed the U.S. presidency is very different from the promises of engagement that he made during his election campaign. This policy presents a striking example of the disparity between pre-election promises and the action taken thus far during the Obama presidency.

On the first day of the new administration, sanctions were authorized against three north Korean firms under the Arms Export Control Act, along with several nonproliferation executive orders. The three firms were KOMID, which had been sanctioned by other administrations, Sino-Ki and Moksong Trading Company, which were being sanctioned for the first time. [1]

The hostile direction of Obama’s policy, however, has been signaled most clearly by the change made when the new administration failed to reappoint Christopher Hill to his position as Undersecretary of State for East Asia and the head of the U.S. negotiation team for the six-party talks with North Korea.

Not only was Hill not reappointed, but the role of U.S. negotiator with north Korea was downgraded and split among several different officials. A part time position was created for an envoy. Another person would be the U.S. representative to the six-party talks. And still another official was to be appointed to the position of Undersecretary of State for East Asia, which was Hill’s former position.

Stephen Bosworth accepted the position as envoy. His official title is Special Representative for north Korea Policy. Bosworth did so on a part time basis. At the same time, he maintained his full time position as Dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University along with his new part time job.

There has been little public discussion about why the Obama administration made such significant changes. The Boston Globe, in an article about Bosworth’s appointment, refers to the concerns expressed by Leon Sigal, the director of the Northeast Asia Cooperative Security Project at the Social Science Research Council in New York. The article quotes Sigal saying that there are officials in the new administration, “who don’t think we can get anywhere, so they don’t want to do the political heavy lifting to try.” [2] In contrast to the loss of Hill as a negotiator with north Korea, the Obama administration reappointed Stuart Levey, as the Undersecretary of Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. Levey’s office in the Treasury Department was created in 2004 under George W. Bush. This office was used to impose economic sanctions on north Korea. One such action was the freezing of funds that north Korea had in a bank in Macao, China, the Banco Delta Asia (BDA).

North Korea was not only denied access to $25 million, but it was also denied the use of the international banking system. This freezing of north Korean funds was announced shortly after north Korea and the five other nations who were part of the six party talks signed the September 19, 2005 agreement to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. [3] The announcement by the Treasury Department sabotaged the implementation of this important agreement that would have gone a long way toward the goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. North Korea withdrew from the six-party talks until the $25 million was returned. [4]

It is significant here to note that Levey and his office briefly came under public scrutiny in 2006 when the New York Times published an article exposing how the office has access to and uses the SWIFT Data Base to do intelligence work targeting people and transactions that it claims are in violation of U.S. law. [5] The SWIFT Data Base contains the transactions and identification information for the hundreds of thousands of people and entities that do electronic banking transactions using the SWIFT system.

The action by the U.S. Treasury using a section of the USA Patriot Act against the Banco Delta Asia Bank, however, demonstrated that the U.S. government has the ability to use this data base information against those it wants to target politically, rather than those who have committed any actual illegal acts. Testimony by former U.S. government officials to Congress, and documents submitted to the U.S. government by the bank owner and his lawyer, demonstrated that there was never any evidence offered of any illegal acts. Instead the Patriot Act had been used to allow the U.S. government to act against this bank for political objectives. (See “Behind the Blacklisting of Banco Delta Asia: Is the policy aimed at targeting China as well as north Korea?”)

The new positions, designated to negotiate with north Korea, are at a lower administrative level than was Hill’s former position. In addition, the Obama administration, by not reappointing Hill, has lost his valuable expertise. Hill had effectively countered the sabotage to negotiations caused by Levey’s office during the Bush administration.

Hill was met with opposition from the Bush administration at each step along the way. Remarkably, Hill effectively countered much of this opposition, making progress in the negotiations. In August 2008, however, the Bush administration unilaterally changed what it claimed north Korea’s obligations were as part of Phase 2 of the talks, and falsely declared that north Korea was in violation. [6]

With Hill gone from the north Korean desk at the State Department, and Levey reappointed to his position at the Treasury Department, it is significant that Obama sent an inter-agency group to visit the capitals of Japan, South Korea and China to discuss punishments for north Korea. Levey was featured as one of the U.S. government officials on the trip.

But is punishment appropriate? There has been no similar effort to open negotiations with north Korea. Instead, the U.S. administration has given its support to Levey and others whose actions have sabotaged the success of the six-party talks. This failure of the Obama administration is similar to previous U.S. policy on north Korea.

Robert Carlin, part of the U.S. government negotiation team with North Korea under the Clinton Administration, documents that there were significant and successful negotiations on 22 issues carried out in the period between 1993 and 2000. [7] These achievements, however, could not survive into the transition to the Bush Administration.

Similarly, Mike Chinoy, a former CNN journalist, in his book “Meltdown,” documents both the Clinton years and much of the Bush years. He chronicles how negotiations were torpedoed not by north Korea, but by forces within the U.S. government itself. [8]

In addition, the U.S. conducts frequent military maneuvers close to north Korea that north Korea has claimed as a threat to its peace and security.

On April 5, 2009, North Korea test launched a communications satellite using a rocket of advanced design. This test broke no international law or treaty to which north Korea is a party. [9] Still the launch was condemned by the UN Security Council in a Presidential Statement. Also new sanctions were imposed on north Korea, stating as authority, a previous Security Council Resolution 1718. [10]

North Korea has been the target of hostile acts by the U.S. North Korea has tested rockets and has done tests of two nuclear devices, which it claims it needs as a deterrent. The U.S. has military agreements with Japan and South Korea, including them under the protection of the U.S. nuclear umbrella. There is only an armistice ending the fighting of the Korean War. The U.S. as the head of the UN command has not been willing to agree to a treaty ending the Korean War.

The failure of the UN Security Council to explore north Korea’s problems in trying to check U.S. hostility demonstrates its failure to carry out its obligations under the UN charter. The failure of the Security Council to protect Iraq from U.S. invasion is a warning that the Security Council should reform its processes so that it does not just become a vehicle for the political targeting of a nation as happened with Iraq.[11]

In his comments to journalists in response to the sanctions put on North Korea in April 2009, the Deputy Ambassador to the UN from North Korea, Pak Tok Hun said, “The recent activities of the security council concerning the peaceful use of outer space by my country shows that unless the security council is totally reformed and democratized we expect nothing from it.”[12]

The challenge to the nations of the UN is to provide a more neutral and considered investigation of the problem it is trying to solve rather than just carrying out the punishment a P-5 nation may endeavor to inflict on another nation. (A P-5 nation refers to the permanent members of the UN Security Council, the U.S., Britain, China, France, and Russia)

Notes

1. Karin Lee and Julia Choi, “North Korea: Unilateral and Multilateral Economic Sanctions and U.S. Department of Treasury Actions, 1955-April 2009,” National Committee on North Korea, (Paper last updated April 28, 2009), p.26.

2. James F. Smith, “In role as envoy, Tufts dean carries hard-earned lessons,” The Boston Globe, May 26, 2009

3. Ronda Hauben, “North Korea’s $25 Million and Banco Delta Asia: Another Abuse under the U.S. Patriot Act,” OhmyNews International, March 3, 2007.

4. Ronda Hauben, “Behind the Blacklisting of Banco Delta Asia: Is the policy aimed at targeting China as well as North Korea?,” OhmyNews International, May 18, 2007.

5. Erick Lichtblau and James Risen, “Bank Data Is Sifted by U.S. in Secret to Block Terror,” New York Times, June 23 2006.

6. Ronda Hauben, “U.S. Media and the Breakdown in the Six-Party Talks,” OhmyNews International, Sept. 28, 2008.

7. Robert Carlin, “Negotiating with North Korea: Lessons Learned and Forgotten,” Korea Yearbook 2007, Edited by Rudiger Frank et al, Brill, 2007, p. 235-251.

8. Mike Chinoy, Meltdown, St. Martin’s Press, 2008.

9. Ronda Hauben, “Controversy at UN Over North Korea’s Launch: Reconvening six-party talks or penalizing Pyongyang?,” OhmyNews International, April 10, 2009.

10. Ronda Hauben, “Security Council’s Ad Hoc Actions Increase Tension on Korean Peninsula: [Analysis] North Korea responds by withdrawing from six-party talks as promised,” OhmyNews International, April 17, 2009.

11. Seumas Milne, “After Iraq It’s Not Just North Korea that Wants a Bomb,” Guardian Comment Is Free, May 29/09.

12. Pak Tok Hun, Informal Comments to the Media at the UN Media Stakeout, April 24, 2009.

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U.S. Rebuked for Escalating Tension
on Korean Peninsula

The U.S. is pushing the situation on the Korean Peninsula to the brink of a war by massively deploying armed forces in south Korea and surrounding areas. This occurred right after it prodded the UN Security Council (UNSC) into adopting an extremely provocative “resolution on sanctions” against the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) over its legitimate nuclear test for self-defense.

Rodong Sinmun (newspaper of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea) observed in a signed commentary:

“The U.S. imperialists have delivered to their south Korean puppets bombs for destroying underground facilities (bunker-busters, weapons just below nuclear-strength bombs — VOR). The U.S. also reinforced its military occupation of the south and threats to the DPRK by deploying its most modern military weapons, including an unmanned reconnaissance plane and F-22s at its bases in south Korea and Japan.

“The U.S., which under the previous administration had designated the DPRK as its target of a first-strike nuclear attack is now quickly putting its plans to invade the DPRK into practice, using the pretext of the DPRK’s nuclear test. The situation on the Korean Peninsula is so tense that a war may break out any moment.

“It is not because of someone’s “threat” that the U.S. is deploying its new ultra-modern weapons in south Korea and the surrounding areas. Aggressors require a pretext for igniting a war. Preparations are a means for them to launch a military action once the pretext is given to them.

“The U.S. still regards the DPRK as a main element of its foreign military strategy to mount a preemptive attack on those countries which it put on the list of the “axis of evil” (DPRK, Iran and Iraq) and bring them under its control.

“It is the independent stand of the DPRK to decisively counter the enemy’s “confrontation” with all-out confrontation. If the U.S. imperialists get so keen to invade the DPRK and start a war on the Korean Peninsula at any cost, this will only lead them to the abyss of self-destruction. The U.S. would be well advised to give up its ambition to seize the DPRK by force of arms and to instead act with reason.”

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U.S. Urged to Give up Its Nuclear War Scenario

The U.S. is openly hinting at a nuclear war scenario against the DPRK, trumpeting the provision of an effective “nuclear umbrella” to “protect” its “allies” from the nonexistent “military threat” from the DPRK.

Rodong Sinmun observed in a signed commentary: Lurking behind the U.S. promise to provide a “nuclear umbrella” to its “allies” is a criminal scenario to forward-deploy more nuclear weapons in south Korea, Japan and other areas around the Korean Peninsula and spark off a nuclear war there and try to legitimize it under the pretext of a “military threat” from the DPRK.

The U.S. description of the DPRK’s nuclear test as a “threat” to its “security” and that of its “allies” is nothing but sheer sophism intended to misinterpret justice as injustice and vice versa.

It is an open secret that the U.S. has hastened the preparations for a nuclear war against the DPRK on the basis of a secret agreement made with south Korea and Japan long ago. They are now contemplating carrying out the nuclear war against the DPRK. The U.S. dispatched a nuclear-powered carrier flotilla to the Pacific, while conducting a malignant smear campaign over the DPRK’s nuclear test. And now it is vociferous about the provision of a “nuclear umbrella” to the said countries under the signboard of “protecting its allies.” Herein lies the danger of the U.S. scenario.

The “nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation” touted by the U.S. are nothing but a lie and deception. It is the height of hypocrisy for the U.S. to hide its true colors as the chieftain of nuclear war and disguise itself as an apostle of “peace.” No matter how loudly the U.S. may talk about nuclear disarmament, it can never conceal its disgusting nature as a nuclear hawk keen to brandish a nuclear stick.

The U.S. reckless racket for putting pressure on the DPRK over its nuclear issue only serves as a catalyst compelling the latter to take measures for bolstering its nuclear deterrent for self-defense. The U.S. would be well advised to give up its camouflaged artifice of peace to disarm someone through the trumpeting of hypocritical “nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation” and discard its nuclear war scenario.

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All Koreans Called on to Open Decisive Phase for National Reunification

A spokesman for the North Side Committee for Implementing the June 15 Joint Declaration released a statement on Monday, June 15, 2009, nine years after its first publication. He said the Joint Declaration adopted in the historic north-south summit meeting on June 15, 2000, is a milestone of national reunification. The statement explained that it serves as an immortal banner that dynamically arouses all Koreans to the struggle to bring about out the destiny of the nation by realizing the cause of reunification.

Thanks to the adoption of the June 15 joint declaration the inter-Korean relations characterized by distrust and confrontation, which had persisted for more than half a century, have turned into those of reconciliation, unity and cooperation. A new era of “By our nation itself” and a fresh history of independent reunification were ushered in, the statement said. It added:

Great progress has been made in the movement for national reunification and in inter-Korean relations amid the warm enthusiasm of the whole nation for reunification. The meeting of the top leaders of the north and the south occurred again in October 2007, where the October 4 declaration was adopted. It included a program for implementing the June 15 Joint Declaration, opening up new prospects for reunification.

The dynamic advance of the independent reunification movement under the banner of “By our nation itself” faced a serious obstacle with the emergence of the Lee Myung Bak regime in south Korea. The grave circumstances now prevailing on the Korean Peninsula show once again that peace and reunification of the country can be attained only when a do-or-die struggle is conducted against the confrontation and war moves of the anti-reunification forces, internal and external.

The statement warmly called on all the Koreans at home and abroad to thoroughly preserve and implement the historic inter-Korean declarations, united as one under the banner of “By our nation itself,” and thus open a decisive phase for the country’s reunification.

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Korea’s Independence Basis for Strengthening Internationalism

Political independence is linked with internationalism and is the basis for strengthening it. Political independence is manifested in exercising full-fledged sovereignty and equality in external relations.

There are in the world parties and countries, big and small, and economically developed and underdeveloped nations. But, they are all equal and independent. Therefore, one should not infringe on the sovereignty of others and others should not disturb one’s sovereignty.

Political independence is linked with internationalism and there cannot be internationalism apart from independence. Internationalism is not an abstract concept divorced from the revolution of each country but closely related with it. Only when one makes revolution successfully in one’s country, can one fully support other’s revolution with experience and substantial strength and fulfill the international duty.

Political independence is also the basis for consolidating internationalism. Internationalist unity should be voluntary and equal by nature. For this purpose, political independence should be fully ensured between countries.

There can be neither friendship nor solidarity among the nations when someone orders other countries to act this or that way, threatening their sovereignty by not respecting it or by meddling in their internal affairs.

The Workers’ Party of Korea and the government of the DPRK have exercised full-fledged political sovereignty and equality and successfully combined political independence with internationalism in the external relations by uniting with the socialist countries, non-aligned countries and other developing countries and strengthening solidarity with the countries which are friendly with them on the principle of territorial integrity, respect for sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit.

Independence in politics is linked with true patriotism and genuine internationalism, not “nationalism” or “isolationism.”

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Demand Lee Myung Bak Step Down
South Koreans Defend Democracy
Against U.S.-Organized Attacks

June 10, 2009 marked the 22nd anniversary of the June 1987 Democratic Uprising, a popular uprising against the military dictatorship of Chun Doo Hwan. On this occasion, mass demonstrations took place across south Korea involving some 300,000 people, including members of civic and public organizations, opposition parties, workers, peasants, students, women, intellectuals, media personalities and others. It was a broad expression of popular desire to restore democracy and oppose the retrogression being imposed by the Lee Myung Bak government on south Korean society including the suppression of the reunification movement and to demand immediate reforms to its methods of governance.

In Seoul, 150,000 people from all walks of life took part in a rally, carrying signs with slogans calling for the government to step down. Speakers said the Lee Myung Bak regime has pursued a fascist dictatorial rule violating democracy since coming to power. They called on everyone to join in struggle to get rid of the Lee government. The rally issued the “four-point demand for restoring democracy,” i.e. that the government stop the strong-arm rule and policy favoring big businesses and the moves to enact laws that violate democracy, stop the people’s deteriorating living conditions including human rights abuses, that it take action for immediate change in the state administration and improve inter-Korean relations. A resolution was read out warning that if Lee persists in reinforcing his unilateral fascist dictatorial rule despite the people’s demands, a sustained widespread people’s resistance movement will be undertaken. The resolution also said that as an immediate task a signature campaign would be taken up until July 10 in order to have the four demands met.

Seoul, Korea, June 10, 2009: Approximately 150,000 people participate in the “Citizens’ Rally to Carry on the Mantle of the June Struggle and Reclaim Democracy” in opposition to the retrogressive policies of the Lee Myung Bak government.

Prior to the rally, various organizations including the Council to Carry on the Mantle of the June Struggle and Reclaim Democracy, the People’s Council for Livelihood and Democracy and the Joint Council of Civic and Public Organizations held a meeting to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the June 10 Democratic Uprising where they called upon all progressive organizations to carry on the struggle for achieving democracy and the nation’s reunification.

The Korean Central News Agency reports that similar rallies were held that day in Pusan, Taejon, Kwangju, Taegu and other places.

In related news, the south Korean newspaper Hankyoreh reports that another popular expression of opposition to the Lee Myung Bak regime are many statements being issued by groups both inside and outside of South Korea. The growing number of declarations began with a statement issued by professors at Seoul National University on June 3 and has since spread beyond academia to all areas of society, including lawyers and legal scholars, philosophers and youth. As of June 10, professors from 17 universities had issued declarations and manifestos, bringing the total since June 3 to an estimated 4,300 Korean professors. Further declarations are expected.

On June 9 alone, a total of 1,029 professors from 17 universities across south Korea issued declarations, including 425 professors representing nine universities in the North Jeolla Province region and professors from universities in the Seoul area like Yonsei University and Hanyang University. A declaration from Methodist Theological University says, “For the past year, the ‘administration for Gangnam’s rich’ has driven the working class, the urban poor, factory laborers, students and public school teachers into a situation of severe crisis, and it is impossible to gauge how great the damages will be in the future.” The statement urges the government to “abandon its policies assisting the wealthy class and immediately withdraw its anti-democratic politics of non-communication.”

On June 10, 877 lawyers and law professors presented a “Statement for the Protection of Human Rights and Democracy.” In their statement they pointed to an abuse of prosecutorial authority in the government’s investigation of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun saying, “An abuse and arbitrary exercise of prosecutorial authority that went beyond democratic control was one of the direct causes of former President Roh Moo-hyun’s death.” The statement goes on to say, “The self-righteousness and high-handedness of the government and public authorities have not been limited to the misuse and abuse of prosecutorial authority against a former President, but has reached the point of threatening the very Constitutional order of democracy and human rights.” The lawyers and scholars urged President Lee to “apologize for the mistakes made in the investigation of former President Roh Moo-hyun and to establish basic measures to prevent future abuses in the exercising of prosecutorial authority.”

Also on June 10, a declaration was released by some 3,000 teenagers, who held and documented a performance where they read their declaration, saying they would send the pictures to the Seoul Municipal Government.

Declarations released by professors on June 9 included a “Statement from Professors in North America Concerned about Korean Democracy” signed by 240 university professors from the U.S. and Canada. The statement is endorsed by professors of Korean descent as well as other scholars noted for their research on south Korea. The statement says, “Nurtured by the toils and sacrifice of many, democracy is a proud asset of the Korean people. The world has watched as the Korean people have moved deliberately, with determination and at human cost, from dictatorship toward democracy, over the last half a century. Regrettably, since the inauguration of the President Lee Myung Bak administration, Korean democracy has lost its way.” The statement concludes by urging President Lee’s administration “to recognize its responsibility for the democracy that has regressed and reorient itself as a government that respects the people’s sovereignty and democratic rights.”

Some 300 philosophers in Korea and various philosophers studying overseas in countries like Germany and France were expected to deliver a “Philosophers’ Statement of Concern on the Regression of Democracy” on June 11.

Also in related news, former south Korean President Kim Dae Jung, who co-signed the June 15 Joint Declaration with Chairman Kim Jong Il of the DPRK, expressed his concerns for south Korea’s democracy and national reunification in his keynote speech at the 9th Anniversary of the June 15 South-North Declaration ceremony held June 11 in Seoul.

Kim stated, “I am concerned about the current situation regarding the democracy in South Korea that came about through so many people’s sacrifices and now seems to be at risk.” He encouraged people to resist the Lee Myung Bak regime’s attempts to impose retrogression saying, “I emphasize with great heartbreak that if one does not act against injustice, he is already on the side of evil.”

Referring to profound democratic sentiment expressed by the Korean people against former dictators such as Syngman Rhee, Park Chung Hee and Chun Doo Hwan, Kim said, “Korean people restored democracy by overcoming authoritarian regimes that had suppressed people.”

“If one wants to make South Korea a free nation, one should act with conscience and cannot be pardoned if one attempts to flatter a dictator,” he added.

Kim also warned of future problems caused by the Lee administration’s current direction saying, “If Lee Myung Bak’s administration maintains his current methods of governance, not only his administration, but all of the people of South Korea will only face misery.”

Regarding the Lee regime’s work to undermine the work for reunification, he called on President Lee to fulfill the June 15 Joint Declaration and October 4 Summit Declaration, saying, “President Lee should realize that people are growing uneasy as inter-Korean relations have worsened.” Kim concluded by calling on those present to “actively engage in maintaining democracy and in seeking a reconciliation between the two Koreas.”

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South Korean Celebration of
June 15 Joint Declaration

Organizations of the reunification movement of south Korea including the South Headquarters of the Pan-national Alliance for Korea’s Reunification and People for Achieving Peace and Reunification, youth, students and human rights organizations held a ceremony celebrating the movement of all Koreans to implementing the June 15 joint declaration for independent reunification, peace and prosperity. The event took place in Seoul on June 14.

Speakers at the ceremony accused the U.S. of pursuing its aggressive policy towards the DPRK and posing a threat to it. They brought out that the dark clouds of a war are hanging heavily over the Korean Peninsula. They opposed the Lee Myung Bak “government” for having brought the inter-Korean relations to a total collapse by adopting U.S. policy and escalating confrontation with their fellow countrymen. They urged the Lee regime to drop its policy of confrontation with the DPRK and implement the June 15 Joint Declaration for peaceful reunification.

A declaration was read out at the ceremony. It said the present reality clearly indicates that there can be neither national reunification nor peace and prosperity of the nation without the implementation of the joint declarations.The statement said the organizations present would dynamically wage the struggle for reunification, including providing information on efforts to preserve and implement the joint inter-Korean declarations. The statement was imbued with the resolution of the people from all walks of life to unite irrespective of affiliation and to struggle to have the fascist laws including the “National Security Law” and the policy of confrontation with compatriots repealed. If the Lee group insists on confrontation and war in disregard of the demand of the nation, all the people will turn out in the movement for forcing the “government” of traitors to step down, it said.

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South Korean Organization for Reunification Urges

UNSC Retract “Resolution on Sanctions” against DPRK

The organization Solidarity for Implementing the South-North Joint Declaration of south Korea on June 14 released a statement titled “The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) must immediately withdraw the ‘resolution on sanctions’ against the north.”

The statement said that the UNSC resolution would only help escalate the confrontation and tension between the south and the north, far from finding a solution to the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.

It continued: If the UNSC truly stands for a peaceful solution of the nuclear issue on the peninsula, it should withdraw its illegal “resolution on sanctions.” The U.S., Japan and the Lee Myung Bak “government” should stop their racket about aggression and roll back their hostile policy towards the north.

If the Lee regime, in a bid to weather its political crisis, opts to play the role of a shock brigade in implementing the U.S. hostile policy towards the DPRK it will not escape a stern judgment of the nation and the people. Such action will bring dark clouds of war over the peninsula

Solidarity for Implementing the South-North Joint Declaration denounces the UNSC resolution and is taking action to put an end to confrontation and tension on the peninsula and achieve reconciliation and peace.

On June 15 the organization issued a statement titled “Let’s defend the June 15 Joint Declaration through a struggle to force the Lee Myung Bak regime to step down.” June 15, 2009 marked the ninth anniversary of the publication of the June 15 Joint Declaration.

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Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea
South Korean Government Denounced for Joining the
Proliferation Security Initiative

The Korean Central News Agency reported on May 27 on the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK)’s statement on south Korea joining the U.S.-organized Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI). The PSI was established by the U.S. in 2003 as part of its global “war on terror,” to impose a “more dynamic, active approach” to stopping and seizing ships and planes carrying anything that the U.S. considers “banned weapons and weapons technology and related materials.” It is well known that many medical, agricultural and nuclear energy related materials have dual uses, but would be considered part of such a “ban.” The PSI is also designed to specifically circumvent existing international maritime law that forbids such arbitrary seizures. The U.S. had been putting great pressure on the south Korean government to join the PSI but no previous government has agreed to do so. The participation now of south Korea in the initiative reveals the extent of U.S. interference on the Korean peninsula and the control it still has over the south Korean military. Furthermore, the recent UN Security Council Resolution 1874, which condemns the DPRK for its May 25 nuclear test imports wholesale the provisions of the PSI in clause 17, revealing how closely the U.S. “works” with the UN Security Council.

Statement of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea

The so-called PSI is a mechanism for a war of aggression built by the U.S. against the DPRK under the pretext of intercepting and blockading ships and planes, etc. suspicious of transporting weapons of mass destruction including nuclear weapons and missiles.

The PSI has been criticized and repudiated at home and abroad for its aggressive nature and illegality. Moreover, full participation in the PSI by a side on the Korean Peninsula where the state of military confrontation is growing acute and there is constant danger of military conflict itself means igniting a war.

The DPRK, therefore, has already seriously warned the south Korean authorities against the above-said moves and repeatedly clarified its stand that it would strongly counter those moves of the Lee group, in particular, regarding them as a declaration of a war as it is pursuant to its American master’s policy. Nevertheless, the Lee group openly took a step of fully participating in the PSI, which former regimes dared not do, bringing the situation on the Korean Peninsula and inter-Korean relations beyond the uncontrollable danger line of a war.

It is preposterous for the Lee group to have opted to fully participate in the PSI under the pretext of the underground nuclear test of the DPRK for self-defense. It is quite natural for a nuclear weapons state to conduct a nuclear test. The anti-DPRK racket kicked up by the U.S. and its followers under that pretext is not truly aimed at the nuclear non-proliferation but prompted by their black-hearted intention to stifle the DPRK.

Now that the south Korean puppets have become so ridiculous as to join in the said racket and dare declare a war against compatriots through their full participation in the PSI, the DPRK is compelled to take decisive measures, as it has already warned. The DPRK solemnly declares as follows in view of the prevailing situation:

First, The DPRK will deal a decisive and merciless retaliatory blow, no matter from which place, at any attempt to stop, check and inspect its vessels, regarding it as a violation of its inviolable sovereignty and territory and a grave provocation to it.

Second, The DPRK will take such a practical counter-action as in wartime now that the south Korean authorities declared a war in wanton violation of its dignity and sovereignty by fully participating in the PSI.

The DPRK will never pardon the south Korean puppet group of traitors for going mad with confrontation and war, bereft of any reason as servants for outside forces in the moves for a war of aggression. The Lee Myung Bak group will be held wholly accountable for the disastrous consequences to be entailed by its reckless hostile acts against the DPRK.

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Reference Materials

Joint Vision For The Alliance Of The United States Of America And The Republic Of Korea

The White House, June 16, 2009

The United States of America and the Republic of Korea are building an Alliance to ensure a peaceful, secure and prosperous future for the Korean Peninsula, the Asia-Pacific region, and the world.

Our open societies, our commitment to free democracy and a market economy, and our sustained partnership provide a foundation for the enduring friendship, shared values, and mutual respect that tightly bind the American and Korean peoples.

The bonds that underpin our Alliance and our partnership are strengthened and enriched by the close relationships among our citizens. We pledge to continue programs and efforts to build even closer ties between our societies, including cooperation among business, civic, cultural, academic, and other institutions.

The United States-Republic of Korea Mutual Defense Treaty remains the cornerstone of the U.S.-ROK security relationship, which has guaranteed peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia for over fifty years. Over that time, our security Alliance has strengthened and our partnership has widened to encompass political, economic, social and cultural cooperation. Together, on this solid foundation, we will build a comprehensive strategic alliance of bilateral, regional and global scope, based on common values and mutual trust. Together, we will work shoulder-to-shoulder to tackle challenges facing both our nations on behalf of the next generation.

The Alliance is adapting to changes in the 21st Century security environment. We will maintain a robust defense posture, backed by allied capabilities that support both nations’ security interests. The continuing commitment of extended deterrence, including the U.S. nuclear umbrella, reinforces this assurance. In advancing the bilateral plan for restructuring the Alliance, the Republic of Korea will take the lead role in the combined defense of Korea, supported by an enduring and capable U.S. military force presence on the Korean Peninsula, in the region, and beyond.

We will continue to deepen our strong bilateral economic, trade and investment relations. We recognize that the Korea-U.S. (KORUS) Free Trade Agreement could further strengthen these ties and we are committed to working together to chart a way forward. We aim to make low-carbon green growth into a new engine for sustainable economic prosperity and will closely cooperate in this regard. We will strengthen civil space cooperation, and work closely together on clean energy research and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

Through our Alliance we aim to build a better future for all people on the Korean Peninsula, establishing a durable peace on the Peninsula and leading to peaceful reunification on the principles of free democracy and a market economy. We will work together to achieve the complete and verifiable elimination of North Korea’s nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs, as well as ballistic missile programs, and to promote respect for the fundamental human rights of the North Korean people.

In the Asia-Pacific region we will work jointly with regional institutions and partners to foster prosperity, keep the peace, and improve the daily lives of the people of the region. We believe that open societies and open economies create prosperity and support human dignity, and our nations and civic organizations will promote human rights, democracy, free markets, and trade and investment liberalization in the region. To enhance security in the Asia-Pacific, our governments will advocate for, and take part in, effective cooperative regional efforts to promote mutual understanding, confidence and transparency regarding security issues among the nations of the region.

Our governments and our citizens will work closely to address the global challenges of terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, piracy, organized crime and narcotics, climate change, poverty, infringement on human rights, energy security, and epidemic disease. The Alliance will enhance coordination on peacekeeping, post-conflict stabilization and development assistance, as is being undertaken in Iraq and Afghanistan. We will also strengthen coordination in multilateral mechanisms aimed at global economic recovery such as the G20.

The United States of America and the Republic of Korea will work to achieve our common Alliance goals through strategic cooperation at every level. Proven bilateral mechanisms such as the Security Consultative Meeting and the Strategic Consultations for Allied Partnership will remain central to realizing this shared vision for the Alliance.

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UN Security Council Resolution 1874
for Sanctions Against the DPRK

On June 12 the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) passed resolution 1874 directed against the sovereignty and independence of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. The resolutions call for increased sanctions against the DPRK, for member states to “inspect vessels” of the DPRK, including on the high seas, simply on the basis of “information that provide reasonable grounds to believe that the cargo of such vessel contains” materials that could be related to arms or nuclear weapons. Below are excerpts from the resolution, which is available in full at un.org under UNSC Resolutions.

UNSC Resolution 1874

1. Condemns in the strongest terms the nuclear test conducted by the DPRK on 25 May 2009 (local time) ...

2. Demands that the DPRK not conduct any further nuclear test or any launch using ballistic missile technology;

3. Decides that the DPRK shall suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile program and in this context re-establish its pre-existing commitments to a moratorium on missile launches; […]

8. Decides that the DPRK shall abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner and immediately cease all related activities, shall act strictly in accordance with the obligations applicable to parties under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the terms and conditions of the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) ...

10. Decides that the measures in paragraph 8 (a) of resolution 1718 (2006) shall also apply to all arms and related materiel, as well as to financial transactions, technical training, advice, services or assistance related to the provision, manufacture, maintenance or use of such arms, except for small arms and light weapons and their related materiel, and calls upon States to exercise vigilance over the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer to the DPRK of small arms or light weapons, and further decides that States shall notify the Committee at least five days prior to selling, supplying or transferring small arms or light weapons to the DPRK;

11. Calls upon all States to inspect, in accordance with their national authorities and legislation, and consistent with international law, all cargo to and from the DPRK, in their territory, including seaports and airports, if the State concerned has information that provides reasonable grounds to believe the cargo contains items the supply, sale, transfer, or export of which is prohibited ...

12. Calls upon all Member States to inspect vessels, with the consent of the flag State, on the high seas, if they have information that provides reasonable grounds to believe that the cargo of such vessels contains items the supply, sale, transfer, or export of which is prohibited ...

13. Calls upon all States to cooperate with inspections pursuant to paragraphs 11 and 12, and, if the flag State does not consent to inspection on the high seas, decides that the flag State shall direct the vessel to proceed to an appropriate and convenient port for the required inspection by the local authorities pursuant to paragraph 11;

17. Decides that Member States shall prohibit the provision by their nationals or from their territory of bunkering services, such as provision of fuel or supplies, or other servicing of vessels, to DPRK vessels if they have information that provides reasonable grounds to believe they are carrying items the supply, sale, transfer, or export of which is prohibited...unless provision of such services is necessary for humanitarian purposes or until such time as the cargo has been inspected, and seized and disposed of if necessary, and underlines that this paragraph is not intended to affect legal economic activities;

18. Calls upon Member States, ...to prevent the provision of financial services or the transfer to, through, or from their territory, or to or by their nationals or entities organized under their laws (including branches abroad), or persons or financial institutions in their territory, of any financial or other assets or resources that could contribute to the DPRK’s nuclear-related, ballistic missile-related, or other weapons of mass destruction-related programs or activities...

19. Calls upon all Member States and international financial and credit institutions not to enter into new commitments for grants, financial assistance, or concessional loans to the DPRK...

20. Calls upon all Member States not to provide public financial support for trade with the DPRK (including the granting of export credits, guarantees or insurance to their nationals or entities involved in such trade) where such financial support could contribute to the DPRK’s nuclear-related or ballistic missile-related or other WMD-related programs or activities.

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Top U.S. Diplomat in Asia Dictates Terms to DPRK

On June 10, Kurt Campbell, speaking to the U.S. Senate at his confirmation hearing to be the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs declared the U.S. will not accept a “nuclear North Korea.” Diverting from the U.S. hostile policy towards the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), which includes its nuclear arsenal, nuclear first strike policy and 30,000 troops in the south as the main threat to peace in the region, Campbell stated the U.S. is committed to “defending” Japan and south Korea, claiming the recent DPRK nuclear test posed a “direct and reckless challenge” to the world.

“If confirmed, I would use close bilateral and trilateral coordination with Tokyo and Seoul to make clear that neither the United States nor its allies will accept a nuclear North Korea,” Campbell said. “And there should be no mistake: the United States is firm in its resolve to uphold its treaty commitments regarding the defense of its allies,” he said.

Agence France Presse writes, “But Campbell also said that the United States was leaving an open door for north Korea to re-enter dialogue.” In other words, the U.S. expects the DPRK to bow to its threats and rejoin the Six-Party Talks in a position of submission to U.S. dictate.

Campbell will replace Christopher Hill, “the architect of the six-nation agreement” who has been named by President Barack Obama to the post of U.S. Ambassador to Iraq. Campbell was previously a Pentagon official dealing with Asia under former U.S. President Bill Clinton. He founded the Center for a New American Security, a think-tank focused on defense policy seen as close to the Democratic Party.

(Source: Agence France Presse)

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