Current News Articles
(Note: Here we collect the articles which give us a thinking. We hope you should also read them and think over as we do. However, the views expressed in the articles are not necessarily the same as ours.)
KCNA Commentary on Japan Media's Impudent Action
Pyongyang, January 26 (KCNA) -- Conservative media of Japan are getting evermore pronounced in their hostile action after the DPRK suffered a great national loss.
Early in January Jiji Press talked nonsense about "acting for people", hurting the dignity of the DPRK supreme leadership. Meanwhile Tokyo Shimbun parroted the false data cooked up by human scum of south Korea.
On Jan. 22 Asahi Shimbun, reduced to a waiting maid of the right-wing forces, invented a rumor about the Chinese army's "possible entry into Pyongyang" in case of "emergency" in the DPRK.
The facts fully show the sinister and dirty nature of Japanese conservative media.
There are many countries and media in the world, but such impudent media are rare as Japan's conservative media which rubbed salt into the wounds of the people of neighboring country in mourning.
The world is clearly seeing the trifling and inferior nature of media of Japan, a politically minor country.
The Japanese conservative forces are intensifying through reptile means the smear campaign based on distorted and false information in a bid to incite distrust and hostility toward the DPRK worldwide and attain their scheme to stifle it. The said report aimed to drive a wedge between the DPRK and China, too, was a revelation of their hostile attempt to isolate the DPRK externally and check the vigorous advance of its army and people.
This is a vicious political provocation as well as an act of terrorism and aggression against the DPRK.
Such actions aggravating the DPRK-Japan relations are not in accord with the demand of the era for detente in Northeast Asia, and they will bring nothing good to Japan.
Though the Japanese reactionaries are doing the DPRK something mean, its army and people will dynamically advance in higher spirit.
Kim Jong Il Will Always Live
Pyongyang, December 19 (KCNA) -- Leader Kim Jong Il, the great father of the Korean people, passed away too suddenly.
The DPRK is overcome with bitter sorrow at the demise of the father of the nation who had energetically worked day and night for prosperity of the socialist homeland and the happiness of people all his life.
Its army and people's loyalty and sense of obligation to him are now growing higher than ever before.
They are resolutely rising up to change their sorrow into great strength and courage with the noble sense of moral obligation and immovable faith and will to hold Kim Jong Il in high esteem forever and glorify his feats for all ages.
The hearts of all servicepersons and people are replete with the pledge to hold in high esteem the great Kim Jong Il forever and make neither concession nor delay on the road of the Juche revolution, the Songun revolution true to his behests.
The Korean people have suffered the great loss but are decisively rising up as they have Kim Jong Un, great successor to the revolutionary cause of Juche and prominent leader of the party and the army and people of the DPRK who is standing in the van of the Korean revolution.
He is another great person produced by Korea who is identical to Kim Jong Il.
No force on earth can block the revolutionary advance of our party, army and people wisely led by Kim Jong Un.
Leader Kim Jong Il will always be with us.
The New York Times on Buoyed by Wall St. Protests, Rallies Sweep the Globe
Buoyed by the longevity of the Occupy Wall Street encampment in Manhattan, a wave of protests swept across Asia, the Americas and Europe on Saturday, with hundreds and in some cases thousands of people expressing discontent with the economic tides in marches, rallies and occasional clashes with the police.
Rallies Across the Globe Protest Economic Policies
In Rome, a rally thick with tension spread over several miles. Small groups of restive young people turned a largely peaceful protest into a riot, setting fire to at least one building and a police van and clashing with police officers, who responded with water cannons and tear gas. The police estimated that dozens of protesters had been injured, along with 26 law enforcement officials; 12 people were arrested.
At least 88 people were arrested in New York, including 24 accused of trespassing in a Greenwich Village branch of Citibank and 45 during a raucous rally of thousands of people in and around Times Square. More than 1,000 people filled Washington Square Park at night, but almost all of them left after dozens of police officers with batons and helmets streamed through the arch and warned that they would be enforcing a midnight curfew. Fourteen were arrested for remaining in the park.
Other than Rome¡¯s, the demonstrations across Europe were largely peaceful, with thousands of people marching past ancient monuments and gathering in front of capitalist symbols like the European Central Bank in Frankfurt. Similar scenes unfolded across cities on several continents, including in Sydney, Australia; Tokyo; Hong Kong; Toronto; Chicago; and Los Angeles, where several thousand people marched to City Hall as passing drivers honked their support.
But just as the rallies in New York have represented a variety of messages ? signs have been held in opposition to President Obama yards away from signs in support of him ? so did Saturday¡¯s protests contain a grab bag of sentiments, opposing nuclear power, political corruption and the privatization of water.
Yet despite the difference in language, landscape and scale, the protests were united in frustration with the widening gap between the rich and the poor.
¡°I have no problem with capitalism,¡± Herbert Haberl, 51, said in Berlin. ¡°But I find the way the financial system is functioning deeply unethical . We shouldn¡¯t bail out the banks. We should bail out the people.¡±
In New York, where the occupation of Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan was moving into its second month, a large crowd marched north early Saturday afternoon to Washington Square Park, where it was joined by several hundred college students who decried, among other things, student debt and unemployment.
In late afternoon, the crowds marched up Avenue of the Americas toward a heavily barricaded Times Square, beseeching onlookers to join in with cries of ¡°You are the 99 percent.¡±
At Times Square, they convened with thousands of other protesters and caught hundreds of tourists unawares. ¡°We thought they were going to stay down on Wall Street,¡± said Sandi Bernard ? who is 59 and was visiting from Waldorf, Md. ? while wondering if she would have trouble making the 8 p.m. curtain call for ¡°Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.¡±
Some tourists pumped their fists and whooped from atop double-decker sightseeing buses as the protesters cheered back. To keep 42nd Street clear the police shunted marchers up to 46th Street, where officers and the pressed-in masses had several run-ins. At one point the police pushed the barricades in toward the crowd, and the crowd pushed back. At another point two mounted officers moved their horses briefly into the throng.
Three people were arrested trying to take down barricades, the police said. Later, as officers tried to disperse people east on 46th Street, 42 people who the police said defied their orders were taken away, in plastic handcuffs, in three police wagons. One witness, Harry Kaback, a 26-year-old comic selling tickets to the Ha! comedy club, said the protesters were ¡°getting rowdy¡± with the police and shouting in their faces.
For the protesters, marching on Times Square held almost as much significance as did protesting against Wall Street.
¡°Times Square represents business as usual ? buy, buy, buy in this economic climate, watch the latest show,¡± said Elias Holtz, 29, a Web designer who lives in Bushwick, Brooklyn. ¡°But the crisis is everywhere.¡±
The protest moved back to Washington Square Park, where people listened to speeches and debated whether to stay while police officers marched down Fifth Avenue and into the square. One officer gave a warning as midnight approached: ¡°The park closes at 2400 hours. You can exit to the east, west or south. You have 10 minutes.¡±
Virtually everyone chose to leave, and it was unclear if anyone was arrested. Many headed back to Zuccotti Park, where there is no curfew.
Earlier, about a dozen protesters entered a Chase branch in Lower Manhattan and withdrew their money from the bank while 300 other people circled the block, some shouting chants and beating on drums. The former Chase customers, who declined to reveal how much they had in their accounts ? though a few acknowledged it was not much ? said they planned to put their money into smaller banks or credit unions.
¡°The more resources we give to small institutions, the more they¡¯ll be able to provide conveniences like free A.T.M.¡¯s and streamlined online banking so they can compete with the larger banks,¡± said Hannah Appel, 33, a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University.
Five people wearing masks were arrested during the march to Times Square for ¡°loitering with masks,¡± said Paul J. Browne, the Police Department¡¯s chief spokesman, an apparent reference to an old state law prohibiting masked gatherings (the law does not apply to masquerade parties).
And two dozen people were arrested at a Citibank branch on LaGuardia Place on trespassing charges.
Some witnesses said that the protesters had tried to leave but were locked inside by bank employees. ¡°They were trying to leave, but they wouldn¡¯t let them,¡± said Meaghan Linick, 23, of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. She said one woman who had been inside and left was forced back inside by police officers.
Citibank, in a statement, said the protesters ¡°were very disruptive and refused to leave after being repeatedly asked, causing our staff to call 911.¡± The statement continued, ¡°The police asked the branch staff to close the branch until the protesters could be removed.¡±
In Washington, several hundred people marched through downtown, beginning in the early morning, passing by several banks. Escorted by the police, the marchers also demonstrated in front of the White House and the Treasury Department before moving on to a rally on the National Mall, where they were joined by representatives of unions and other supporters.
¡°You see how people are beholden to corporate interests no matter how hard you might have worked to get them elected,¡± said Kelly Mears, 24, a former software engineer. ¡°There is a disconnect.¡±
Saturday¡¯s protests sprang not only from the Occupy Wall Street movement that began last month in New York, but also from demonstrations in Spain in May. This weekend, the global protest effort came as finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 industrialized nations meet in Paris to discuss economic issues, including ways to tackle Europe¡¯s sovereign debt crisis.
Tens of thousands of protesters assembled in Madrid on Saturday evening, when chants mingled with live music, including a rendition of Beethoven¡¯s ¡°Ode to Joy,¡± lending the downtown area an upbeat feel on an unusually balmy fall afternoon.
Brief clashes were reported in London, where the police were out in force with dozens of riot vans, canine units and hundreds of officers. But the gathering, attended by people of all ages, was largely peaceful, with a picnic atmosphere and people streaming in and out of a nearby Starbucks.
The WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, made an appearance when a crowd assembled in front of St. Paul¡¯s Cathedral. To loud cheers, Mr. Assange called the protest movement ¡°the culmination of a dream.¡±
In Rome, the protests Saturday were as much about the growing dissatisfaction with the government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who narrowly survived a vote of confidence on Friday, as they were about global financial inequities. Tens of thousands of people turned out for what started as peaceful protests and then devolved into ugly violence. The windows of shops and banks were smashed, a police van was destroyed, and some Defense Ministry offices were set alight.
¡°We don¡¯t feel represented by the government. We feel made fun of,¡± Alessia Tridici, 18, said in Rome. ¡°We¡¯re upset because we don¡¯t have prospects for the future. We¡¯ll never see a pension. We¡¯ll have to work until we die.¡±
Cara Buckley reported from New York, and Rachel Donadio from Rome. Reporting was contributed by Jack Ewing from Frankfurt; Nicholas Kulish from Berlin; Joseph Goldstein, Elizabeth A. Harris, Colin Moynihan and Christopher Maag from New York; Catherine Garcia from Los Angeles; Raphael Minder from Madrid; Ron Nixon from Washington; and Ravi Somaiya from London.
Rodong Sinmun on History and Tradition of DPRK-Russia Friendship
Pyongyang, August 26 (KCNA) -- General Secretary Kim Jong Il's recent historic visit to Siberia and the Far East Region of Russia was recorded as a brilliant chapter in the annals of the DPRK-Russia friendship, says Rodong Sinmun in a bylined article Friday.
The friendly relations between the DPRK and Russia have a long history and tradition, it says, adding:
During the anti-Japanese armed struggle President Kim Il Sung fully supported the Soviet people's cause of justice under the slogan "Let Us Defend the Soviet Union with Arms!", thus strengthening the militant ties with them.
Leader Kim Jong Il sets store by the DPRK-Russia friendship and shows deep care for development of the bilateral relations. His energetic external activities were recorded brilliantly in the history of the DPRK-Russia friendship and they greatly contributed to boosting this traditional friendship and ensuring peace and security in Asia and the rest of the world.
In recent years the bilateral relations of friendship and cooperation have developed in depth in various fields in conformity with the spirit of the agreements reached between the two countries.
This development confirms to the desire and interests of the peoples of the two countries and it is helpful to ensuring peace and security in Asia and the rest of the world.
The Korean people appreciate the efforts made by the Russian government and people to achieve the social progress and defend the security and interests of the country, heartily hoping that everything would go well in Russia.
The DPRK and Russia make joint efforts for peace and security of the Asia-Pacific region including Northeast Asia and fair solution to the international issues.
The DPRK-Russia friendly and cooperative relations will grow stronger day by day by the concerted efforts of the two governments and peoples.
Charles Dutoit pushes for inter-Korean orchestra
By HYUNG-JIN KIM, Associated Press
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) Philadelphia Orchestra chief conductor Charles Dutoit was a longtime friend of Isang Yun, a composer jailed and then exiled by his native South Korea for visiting the North.
Now, 16 years after Yun's death, the 75-year-old Dutoit is working to realize a dream inspired by his friend: an inter-Korean youth orchestra.
The Swiss maestro held talks in North Korea late last month and says cultural officials there support the idea. South Korea says it's willing to review the plan. Dutoit hopes to hold an inaugural concert on Aug. 15, the anniversary of a then-unified Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945.
Nearly 60 years after the Korean War ended with a fragile armistice, the two Koreas are technically still at war. Despite the animosity, analysts say both Koreas could find it difficult to reject such an apolitical event organized by a non-Korean, as neither side would want to be blamed for making ties even worse.
"There is a 50-50 chance for this orchestra project being realized," said Haksoon Paik, a North Korea analyst at the Sejong Institute, a think tank near Seoul.
Dutoit, who conducted the North Korean state symphony on his visit, said he was further inspired by a teary-eyed airport farewell from orchestra members.
"They just didn't (want to) let me to go," he said in a telephone interview from Switzerland. "They wanted to keep me a little longer."
The experience "made me think it would be wonderful to have some little adventure and music together and go over all the problems," he said. "I have to do music to put together these people and to have more comprehension between them."
He says his motivation comes from Yun, one of a handful of figures respected in both Koreas.
Yun became world famous in the late 1960s when he was kidnapped by South Korean agents in Germany after an unauthorized trip to North Korea in 1963. He was sentenced to life in prison but was released and returned to Germany two years later following protests from around the world.
Yun, who became a German citizen in 1971, visited North Korea periodically but was never allowed to return to the South. He died in Germany at age 78 in 1995.
The avant-garde composer, known for about 150 pieces combining Eastern and Western traditions, believed an inter-Korean orchestra could ease animosity.
Dutoit conducted Yun's work and often heard his friend speak of Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, and a music institute there that was named after him.
He first visited Pyongyang in 2002 and was impressed with the skill of the musicians at the institute as they played one of the late composer's works.
Several years later, Dutoit was a conductor for a music festival in Seoul, where he shared with organizers his dream of forming a joint youth orchestra.
The project was set back as tensions rose after North Korea allegedly torpedoed a South Korean warship and killed 46 sailors in March of last year. The North also fired artillery shells on a South Korean border island in November that killed four people.
But Paik, the analyst, said that North Korea now wants to improve its international image, while South Korean President Lee Myung-bak may seek better ties with the North before he leaves office in early 2013.
The South Korean Unification Ministry says it is willing to review the orchestra project after a formal request is made. Dutoit's South Korean partner, Lindenbaum Music Company, plans to file one in coming days. His long-term goal is for the orchestra to perform regularly in Pyongyang, Seoul and the Korean border town of Panmunjom.
He isn't the only one using music as a tool to help ease tension on the Korean peninsula.
Renowned conductor Daniel Barenboim plans to hold a peace concert at the South Korean border town of Imjingak on Aug. 15 with his West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which brings together young musicians from Israel and Arab countries every summer.
The New York Philharmonic also held a concert in Pyongyang in 2008.
Rodong Sinmun on Korean-style Socialism
Pyongyang, May 16 (KCNA) -- Korean-style socialism is the road leading to making the Korean revolution ever-victorious. The Korean people will never step back even an inch from this road.
Rodong Sinmun Monday says this in a jointly signed article.
To preserve the nature of socialism is the eternal lifeline of Korean-style socialism, the article notes, and goes on:
Capitalism is the society based on individualism while socialism is the society based on collectivism. Therefore, the nature of socialism lies in collectivism. President Kim Il Sung built socialism centered on the popular masses, guided by the Juche idea, for the first time in history and provided the advantages of Korean-style socialism one by one as required by it.
For us to preserve the nature of socialism means, in the final analysis, protecting the socialist system, the collectivist ownership and collectivist lifestyle provided by the President and the socialist gains won by the Korean people at the cost of blood and sweat. Preserving the nature of socialism precisely means defending socialism and boundlessly glorifying it.
To preserve the nature of socialism, in particular, presents itself as an important issue in frustrating the imperialists' moves against socialism and successfully building a thriving socialist nation.
It is thanks to the original Songun leadership of Kim Jong Il that the nature of socialism is firmly preserved and its vitality is given full play with each passing day in the DPRK.
The article underscores the need to dynamically advance the general drive for improving the standard of people's of living under his leadership and demonstrate the invincible might and dignity of Korean-style socialism before the whole world.
KCNA Commentary on S. Korea's Introduction of War Hardware from US
Pyongyang, March 23 (KCNA) -- The south Korean authorities are showing increased zeal for introducing war hardware from the U.S.
The stepped-up moves to induct U.S.-made weapons into the south Korean puppet army are an inevitable product of the common aims sought by the U.S. and the south Korean group of traitors to ignite a new war on the Korean Peninsula.
According to a report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute on Mar. 14, U.S.-made weapons accounted for 71 percent of the arms introduced by south Korea from abroad between 2006 and 2010.
This year, too, the south Korean military authorities deployed F-15K fighters, each having 1 800km radius of operation, in the air force again, bringing their number to dozens. They are mulling introducing AWACS Boeing E-737 with a huge financial allocation in July.
This is obviously an unpardonable military provocation to the DPRK and a hideous criminal act of driving the situation on the peninsula to the brink of war.
What merits a more serious attention is that the U.S. and south Korean warmongers are further intensifying their provocations against the DPRK, talking about "contingency" of someone.
It is the scenario of the U.S. to train the south Korean puppet forces by American-style in terms of ideology, morality, arms and equipment and all other aspects and use them as a shock brigade for igniting a new war.
The military authorities of south Korea are busy massively deploying U.S.-made latest nuclear war hardware and precision and air strike weapons to hold a "military edge" over the DPRK.
The massive introduction of U.S.-made weapons is aimed to serve the purpose of the U.S. to start the second Korean war with south Korea as a springboard and that of its stooge south Korean authorities to spark a fratricidal war in league with it.
Unpardonable is the massive induction of U.S.-made weapons to the south Korean puppet forces as it is a grave political and military provocative act of threatening peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and the rest of the Asia-Pacific region and increasing danger of a new war.
US Theory of "Pacific Country" Aimed at Asian Conquest
Pyongyang, January 31 (KCNA) -- The United States, styling itself a "Pacific country", has held that it should attach greater importance to Asia and expand "cooperation" with Asian nations.
Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the U.S., told a recent hearing of the International Relations Committee of the House of Representatives that the U.S. should fully discharge its "role" as a "big power of Asia".
His remark, in a nutshell, means that the U.S. is a "Pacific country".
The U.S. geographically belongs to North America. Asia is far apart from the U.S. with the Pacific Ocean in between. Asian nations are quite different from the U.S. in the way of life, race, customs and skin color. There is no ground in any aspect to term the U.S. a Pacific country and an Asian nation.
Then why are the U.S. authorities talking about the theory of "Pacific country"?
This is related with the U.S. theory of "Pacific Empire".
William Seward, who regarded it as his mission to expand the U.S. territory in North America, used to say the U.S. should put the Pacific region under its control for domination over the world. He also said the greater theatre of the U.S. political and economic activities was the Asia-Pacific region. From that time onward, the advocates of the theory asserted that the supreme power over the Pacific region should be taken by the U.S. and that the Pacific region and Asia should be possessed by the U.S. like Texas and California.
In the period of the Reagan Administration, the theory of "Pacific country" became a U.S. doctrine with its foreign policy switched over to Asia from Europe. Ronald Reagan said that being a "Pacific country", the U.S. should advance into the region in the spirit of a "pioneer".
The Asia-Pacific region is vital for the U.S. from the geopolitical and strategic point of view.
Unlike in Europe, found in the region are powers the U.S. considers to be "potential rivals". The region is blessed with rich natural and human resources tempting the U.S. monopolists' cupidity. Besides, the region is of strategic importance.
This is why the U.S. has done its best to place the Asia-Pacific region under its military control, regarding the fate of its strategy for world domination depends on it.
The theory of "Pacific country" is just a theory of Asia conquest.
2010, a turbulent year for S. Korea, DPRK
By Kim Junghyun
SEOUL, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The year of 2010 witnessed a drastic turn for the worse in the relations between South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
The relations between the two sides, which once looked rosier, have fallen to the lowest possible ebb so far, and their immediate future looks bleak.
INTER-KOREAN RELATIONS TORPEDOED
The inter-Korean relations were expected to be in a good year at the beginning of the year 2010.
In his New Year's address, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak softened his usual hard-line stance against the DPRK, suggesting a standing body for inter-Korean dialogue be set up.
In an interview with BBC in January, Lee said that he is "ready " to sit down with DPRK leader Kim Jong Il, prompting rampant speculations over the perceived prospect of an inter-Korean summit, although the government was quick to play down Lee's remark.
Meanwhile, the DPRK reaffirmed its commitment to a nuclear-free Korean peninsula on the New Year's Day, raising hopes for an improved relationship in the new year.
A rare absence of bickering, however, only proved to be short lived. The sinking of a South Korean navy warship dealt a heavy blow to the much expected inter-Korean relations.
On March 26, the South Korean corvette Cheonan sank off the west coast of the Korean peninsula, killing 46 sailors. A Seoul- led multinational team of investigators later concluded the tragedy was caused by a torpedo attack of the DPRK.
Despite Pyongyang's repeated denial of its involvement in the incident and fresh threats of an "all-out war," bewildered yet enraged Seoul was quick to go into action. Pyongyang will "pay a price corresponding to its provocative acts," President Lee vowed.
As a response to the alleged torpedo attack, Seoul and Washington announced in May a slew of punitive measures against the DPRK, including suspension of almost all trade relations and exchanges with Pyongyang, ban on access of DPRK vessels to South Korean waters and massive joint naval drills.
The allies jointly staged a series of naval exercises designed to deter Pyongyang's further "provocation", including anti- submarine drills and maritime interdiction drills aimed at stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
South Korea's plan to retake its wartime operational control from the United States in 2012 has been put off till 2015, as the fear of losing the U.S. security umbrella prevailed in the wake of the sinking.
INTER-KOREAN RELATIONS IN FREE FALL
Despite the tragic incident of Cheonan, there were a few noticeable exchanges of conciliatory gestures this year from both sides, although they eventually failed to materialize.
In October, South Korea resumed government-funded rice aid to the DPRK for the first time in three years as part of a flood aid package, in what seemed like a change to the president's usually heavy-handed dealing with Seoul's former wartime rival.
Several rounds of Red Cross talks between Seoul and Pyongyang, and the brief yet symbolic reunion of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, offered the biggest opportunity for the neighbors at odds to put the Cheonan incident behind them.
Members of the six-party talks over ending Pyongyang's nuclear program were engaged in a flurry of diplomatic activities, raising hopes that the moribund disarmament talks can be revived in the not-too-distant future.
With the end of the year approaching, however, chances for further rapprochement on the Korean peninsula look slimmer than ever.
On Nov. 23, during a South Korean military exercise, the DPRK artillery shelled the South Korean border island of Yeonpyeong, killing two marines and two civilians, which prompted immediate return fire from South Korean forces.
While expressing regret over the civilian deaths, the DPRK claimed the shelling was for self-defense and provoked by Seoul and Washington who were then being engaged in annual naval drills near the disputed western sea border -- the Northern Limit Line ( NLL), which was set unilaterally by the U.S.-led United Nations military forces at the end of the Korean War in 1953 and was never recognized by the DPRK.
Due to the incident, described by Seoul and Washington as " unprovoked attack," which targeted the South Korean soil and civilians for the first time since the Korean War, South Korea is now seeking to revise its rules of engagement to give more elbow room to the military in responding to attacks and readopt the official description of Pyongyang as a "main enemy" in its defense white paper.
A blueprint to gradually scale back forces in the five islands in the Yellow Sea has been scrapped, and the South Korean government now plans, instead, to bolster military forces there. Lee even called for the "gradual fortification" of the islands.
Seoul also replaced the defense minister in a step designed to boost military morale. The Newly-appointed defense minister, Kim Kwan-jin, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made headlines with his tough talks that included air raiding the DPRK if it launches another attack.
Only days after the maritime clash, Seoul and its ally Washington jointly staged another massive naval exercise in the Yellow Sea.
In what Lee said would be a "catalyst" for the Seoul-Washington alliance, the two countries settled their longstanding difference on the two-way free trade agreement, despite the opposition's claim that Seoul practically gave up on its economic interest for Washington's security umbrella.
FUTURE OF INTER-KOREAN RELATIONS LOOKS GRIM
There are different views among observers over what caused the confusion on the Korean peninsula.
"The Lee administration has taken a wrong strategic approach by sticking only to the hard-line policy, which failed to bring about fundamental changes in North Korea," said Yang Moo-jin, professor at Kyungnam University.
Some observers blamed the "sunshine policy," an engagement policy adopted by South Korea's two previous administrations toward Pyongyang, arguing the enormous amount of aid from Seoul only helped Pyongyang develop nuclear programs and feed its soldiers.
Some blamed Washington's so-called "strategic patience" toward Pyongyang, as they believe the idea of waiting for Pyongyang to reach out first before offering it incentives only irritated the attention-seeking country.
But most agree on one thing: The immediate future of relations between South Korea and the DPRK looks grim, especially as the divided peninsula remains geopolitically important to major powers.
"At this point, the South and the North are not capable of defusing military tension or resolving the current standoff on their own," said Kim Yong-hyun, professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in Seoul, adding other major powers have greater leverage.
If South Korea eventually cools off and heads to the six-party negotiating table, as recently suggested by China, progress can be made, he said. But it will not happen anytime soon -- Seoul, Washington and Tokyo have been adamant in their opposition to returning to the talks before Pyongyang takes some responsible steps, he added.
However, domestic political situations of major players might force a change in the mood, observers said. "The DPRK needs to focus on delivering on its promise to become the 'powerful and prosperous nation' by 2012, meaning it should be doing more to secure internal stability," Yang said.
Seoul and Washington are also in the same boat on that matter, he said. U.S. President Barack Obama, widely expected to seek a second term in office, needs some visible diplomatic accomplishments. And Lee, headed into the lame duck period, should seek some sort of stability on the Korean peninsula not to be recorded in history as the worst leader on inter-Korean relations.
Still, it largely remains as a wishful thinking. Inter-Korean relations in 2011, simply put, will remain under "dark clouds," Yang said.
No New Korean War!
Emergency Protest in Los Angeles
This Monday, Nov. 29, 5:00 pm
@ Wilshire & Western Metro Stop (Koreatown)
Show your support for the rally by signing this statement!
Stop the Provocations ? U.S. Military Out of Asia Now!
The Obama administration and its South Korean client government led by the rabidly anti-communist President Lee Myung-bak are blaming the Democratic People¡¯s Republic of Korea (North Korea) for the latest escalation of hostilities in the Korean Peninsula.
But in reality the crisis there is the result of a policy of deliberate provocation by the U.S. and South Korea over the past several months. These provocations are targeting both the DPRK and the People¡¯s Republic of China, countries where the often-concealed but very real aim of U.S. leaders -- Democrats and Republicans alike ? is ¡°regime change.¡± They could also lead to a new Korean war, one that could expand to wider regional, and potentially nuclear, conflict.
While hypocritically calling for ¡°calm¡± in words, Washington is escalating the crisis by its actions. A U.S. naval group led by the nuclear ¡°super-carrier¡± USS George Washington is on its way to carry out joint military maneuvers with South Korean warships in the Yellow Sea, menacing both China and the DPRK. By moving this huge aircraft carrier into the Yellow Sea the Pentagon and White House are sending a direct, threatening message of escalation since China considers these waters to be part of its sovereign territory.
On November 24, an unnamed ¡°senior administration official¡± confirmed that the U.S. is escalating pressure on China: ¡°China clearly does not like to see U.S aircraft carriers, for example, in the Yellow Sea.¡± (NY Times, Nov. 25, 2010)
What's needed to resolve the crisis
The DPRK wants direct talks with the United States, a formal Peace Treaty ending the Korean War, and a normalization of relations with the United States. This seemed like a realizable goal in the last months of the Bill Clinton administration in 1999 and 2000. George W. Bush scuttled these efforts shortly after taking office in 2001. The Obama administration continued this policy with new sanctions and endless war games simulating the invasion and bombing of North Korea.
The anti-war movement and all progressive people and organizations should stand against any new war, and demand an end to the U.S.-South Korean provocations.
In the latest incident, the North and South Korean armies exchanged artillery fire on November 23. Two South Korean soldiers and two civilians were reported killed and others wounded. Casualties on the North Korean side have not been reported. As in all such previous incidents, U.S. and South Korean leaders condemned the DPRK. But, as even a close reading of the universally anti-North corporate media here reveals, the first shells were fired by the South during military exercises staged in a disputed sea area close to the west coast of North Korea.
The North Korean government stated that it was "reacting to the military provocation of the puppet group with a prompt powerful physical strike," and accused Seoul of starting the skirmish with its "reckless military provocation as firing dozens of shells inside the territorial waters of the" North.
The roots of the crisis
The western sea border between the North and South is not recognized as legitimate by the DPRK. It was unilaterally created by the United States, using the mantle of the United Nations as a fig leaf and cover for its actions, at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The U.S. and allied forces fought the DPRK under the UN flag, slaughtering millions of Korean people and leveling the northern half of the country by massive bombing. That war further divided a historically unified society into competing states. While an armistice was signed in July 1953, the U.S. has refused the demands of the DPRK to sign a Peace Treaty formally bringing the war to an end.U.S.
¡°War Games¡± = Preparation for Real War
In recent years there have been at least three clashes in the same area as the November 23 incident. The DPRK had repeatedly warned South Korea against carrying out the latest ¡°war games¡± the area. In fact, the term ¡°war games¡± is a misnomer -- these maneuvers should correctly be called dress rehearsals for war. No one knows, moreover, whether any particular military exercises is practice or the real thing, until it is over and done with. This is especially true when the ¡°war games¡± take place in extremely close proximity to an enemy state.
The U.S. and South Korea annually stage such exercises close to both China and the DPRK. The latest and largest joint drills were held this past summer despite strong protests from both the PRC and DPRK. Those ¡°games,¡± labeled ¡°Invincible Spirit,¡± included a simulated invasion of the North.
China¡¯s defense ministry especially objected to the presence of a U.S. aircraft carrier close to its coast. In typical arrogant fashion, a U.S. Defense Department spokesperson responded: ¡°Where we exercise, when we exercise, with whom and how, using what assets and so forth, are determinations made by the U.S. Navy, the Department of Defense, by the United States government.¡± (Agence France Presse, July 15, 2010)
Imagine for a moment the reaction in Washington if the Chinese navy announced that it was planning to hold similar maneuvers right off-shore of New York or Los Angeles.
The Number 1 Provocation ? U.S. Military Presence
The biggest provocation of all is the massive presence of U.S. military bases, troop, nuclear and conventional weapons in the region. In 2010, 65 years after the end of World War II, there are scores of U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine bases in Korea, Okinawa, and all across Japan. The U.S. has provided high tech weaponry of all kinds to Taiwan. Trident submarines, each of which can launch hundreds of nuclear warheads, and nuclear-armed aircraft carriers prowl the eastern Pacific round-the-clock.
This vast deployment of military power halfway around the world far exceeds that of any other country. It and the tens of billions of dollars it burns up every year is justified to the people here as being for ¡°defensive purposes.¡± But that is just another Big Lie.
The real purpose of this monstrous military machine is to secure and further the interests of the U.S. corporate power and strategic domination in Asia and around the world. It is the enemy of the people of Korea, China, Japan and the people of the United States.
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CPRK Censures S. Korean Warmongers' PSI Exercises
Pyongyang, October 15 (KCNA) -- The Secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea issued information bulletin No. 966 on Friday lashing out at the south Korean warmongers for frantically staging the DPRK-targeted PSI exercises in the waters off Pusan on Oct. 13 and 14 with not only U.S. forces but the Japan Maritime "Self-Defense Force" involved.
The above-said extremely provocative exercises staged by the puppet forces were a declaration of an all-out confrontation against the DPRK and an extremely dangerous act of pushing the inter-Korean relations to the brink of war, the bulletin said, and went on:
The south Korean authorities have staged exercises for a war of aggression against the DPRK almost every day and held sinister military confabs for mounting a preemptive attack on the DPRK at a time when the inter-Korean dialogue started for the solution of the Red Cross humanitarian issues and the preparations for the reunion of separated families and relatives are making progress thanks to the positive and sincere efforts made by the DPRK.
This clearly indicates that they are only keen on escalating the confrontation with fellow countrymen and realizing their ambition to invade the DPRK in utter disregard of dialogue, inter-Korean relations and peace.
The provocative war racket of the puppet group is nothing but the last-ditch efforts of those thrown into the abyss of ruin for their sycophancy and treachery and unpopular rule.
It is a fantastic pipe dream for the U.S. and the south Korean puppet group to expect what they called "contingency" to take place and call for the implementation of "a plan for coping with it".
The DPRK stands for dialogue and peace but if the aggressors impose a war upon it, it will wipe them out to the last man and blow up their strongholds.
Songun Politics, Manifestation of Patriotism
Pyongyang, August 24 (KCNA) -- The Songun politics is a manifestation of General Secretary Kim Jong Il's noble patriotism, Rodong Sinmun Tuesday says this in a signed article, stressing that it is his firm stand that the party and army exist for the country and the nation and the revolution should also serve them.
The Songun politics of the Workers' Party of Korea is demonstrating its great vitality as a patriotic one for the country and the nation as it reflects Kim Jong Il's noble patriotism, the article notes, and goes on:
This Songun politics is a patriotic one as it calls for increasing the capacity of the People's Army by regarding the military affairs as the most important state affairs, based on the principles of the Juche idea whose truth has been proved in the revolutionary practice, and safeguarding the country and independently carving out the destiny of the country and the nation by relying on the army.
The sovereignty of the nation cannot be realized by words only under the current situation. It can be realized and guaranteed only by the arms of justice.
The confrontation with the U.S. imperialists keen on aggression is precisely the confrontation of strength.
Had the DPRK not had access to the self-defensive war deterrent pursuant to the Songun politics, a nuclear war would have already broken out on the Korean Peninsula.
The WPK's Songun politics serves as a patriotic politics defending the common desire and interests of the nation.
The Songun politics is instilling the strong national character and patriotic spirit into all the Korean people. It is a politics of great magnanimity of embracing all the people willing to make contribution to the national reunification without discrimination irrespective of ideology, system, political view and religious belief. This politics also represents the immutable trust to go along the road of the reunification to the last with those whom one joined hands with. What the WPK aims by holding aloft the banner of Songun is to build a reunified thriving nation on this land, the article concludes.
Thorough Probe into Truth behind "Cheonan" Case Called for
Pyongyang, July 14 (KCNA) -- The United Nations Security Council recently issued its presidential statement in which it noted that the UNSC takes note of the stand of the DPRK that it has nothing to do with the case of the sunk warship "Cheonan" of south Korea. This amounted to a failure of a despicable conspiratorial diplomacy of hostile forces.
Rodong Sinmun Wednesday observes this in a signed commentary. It goes on:
The "Cheonan" case, the farce orchestrated by the south Korean puppet forces at the instigation of the U.S., aroused a lot of suspicions internally and externally and sparked off furor as it was beset with many doubts and contradictions from the very day of its occurrence.
It was the real intention of the U.S. to push the situation on the Korean Peninsula to the brink of a war by orchestrating such charade.
The U.S., Japan and the south Korean puppet authorities groundlessly laid the blame for the case at the door of the DPRK without producing any scientific and objective evidence. It was quite natural that this wrong attitude could hardly convince the international community.
Fabrications and plots would get them nowhere. The hectic diplomacy of those despicable tricksters to do harm to the DPRK ended in failure, bringing only shame and disgrace, in the final analysis.
Lies and fabrications can no longer work in this bright world. Integrity and justice are sure to win people's mindset and emerge victorious. The above-said case clearly taught the international community this truth and lesson.
The DPRK, the victim of the case, will probe the truth behind it to the last and make those responsible for it pay dearly for it.
KCNA Refutes US Accusation against DPRK over "Human Rights Issue"
Pyongyang, July 5 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the U.S. State Department recently asserted that "human rights issue" in the DPRK would be a top-priority concern of the U.S. as it would adversely affect a process for mending the relations with the DPRK.
In a word this means the DPRK-U.S. relations may improve should the DPRK meet the U.S. demand over the "human rights issue".
This is a challenge and mockery of the sovereignty and dignity of the DPRK.
Lurking behind these utterances is a foolish aim to bring its "human rights offensive" against the DPRK to success with improved relations as a bargaining chip.
As shown by history, the U.S. has always used "human rights issue" as a means for interfering and pressurizing other countries in its foreign policy.
The U.S. talk that the "human rights issue" in the DPRK is its top- priority concern only betrays its scenario for aggression to intensify the interference in the internal affairs of the DPRK and pressure upon it to an extreme pitch.
The DPRK will never allow even the slightest attempt of the U.S. to bring down the inviolable socialist system in the DPRK under the pretext of "human rights issue".
By origin, the U.S. has no face to talk about the "human rights issue" in the DPRK as it is the worst human rights abuser which has systematically violated the rights of the Korean people in the most inhuman manner.
Such "human rights issue" as what the U.S. touted much does not exist in the DPRK.
The U.S. has wantonly infringed upon the Korean people's rights to live and exist through its undisguised armed intervention, genocide and persistent and harsh sanctions and blockade, considering the DPRK's dignified socialist system as a thorn in its flesh century after century.
The U.S. had better roll back its policy of aggression toward the DPRK at once and improve, above all, its worst human rights record in the world if it is truly interested in human rights.
KCNA Warns S. Korea's "Theory of Retaliation"
Pyongyang, May 25 (KCNA) -- The south Korean bellicose forces dare vociferate about "punishment" and "retaliation" in the wake of their perpetration of an unpardonable act of branding the DPRK as the real culprit in sinking warship "Cheonan".
They announced "the results of investigation" in which they failed to find out the proper cause of the case and the criminal involved in it, but have since become busy inciting in south Korea an extreme atmosphere of confrontation with fellow countrymen and conducting solicitation diplomacy for "cooperation" in their anti-DPRK campaign.
Through traitor Lee Myung Bak's "statement to the people" and the joint press conference held by the chiefs of the puppet ministries of defense, foreign affairs and trade and unification, the south Korean authorities put forward a "proposal for sanctions" against the DPRK based on "retaliation". And they formally announced a ban on the passage of DPRK's ships through waters of the south side, "stop to trade and exchange between the south and the north", the exercise of "the right to self-defense" and the reference of the case to the UNSC.
They are massively deploying offensive armed forces in the West Sea, calling for "stern punishment" and blustering that "they would not rule out a war." In another development, forces of the puppet police agency and officials of administrative institutions and those of ruling and opposition parties are busy with the moves to implement an "emergency order".
The situation remains tensest on the Korean Peninsula due to the Lee Myung Bak conservative group which regards the sinking of the warship as the best opportunity to escalate the inter-Korean confrontation.
The "theory of retaliation" touted by the Lee group of traitors betrays the final aim sought by it in cooking up the unprecedented case--the sinking of the warship.
No sooner had the case occurred than the conservative group made the fiction that the "warship was sunken by the north" an established fact as if it had been waiting for the case to happen. It cried out for "retaliation" including military measures.
Even before the case was probed, the group discussed the issue of making a switchover to building a defense foundation based on the "theory of retaliation" and formally handled the issue of having access to powerful "deterrent" as part of the "resolute retaliatory measure".
Orders were issued to strengthen the "emergency alert posture" and "establish strict discipline among officials" and there is such terror-ridden atmosphere in south Korea that even its politicians comment that the "Korean Peninsula is in a semi-war state psychologically."
The military gangsters of south Korea committed such serious provocations as resuming the anti-DPRK psychological warfare in the area along the Military Demarcation Line against the backdrop of evermore undisguised moves to escalate the confrontation with the DPRK under the pretext of the sinking of warship "Cheonan".
The south Korean authorities' loud-mouthed "counteraction" over the case of "Cheonan" is part of the scenario to boost the international cooperation in the campaign against the DPRK.
Taking advantage of this case, they are giving momentum to strengthening the alliance against the DPRK, the military alliance in particular.
The U.S. and south Korean military warmongers put their heads together to discuss the issue of staging large-scale combined anti-submarine maneuvers in the West Sea in the latter half of this year under the simulated conditions of an actual war on the pretence of the above-said case.
They discussed bilateral counter-actions such as the strengthening of the south Korea-U.S. combined defense posture and issuing a declaration on boosting the alliance.
The ulterior aim sought by the south Korean group of traitors in spreading "the theory of retaliation" with the sinking of the warship as a momentum is to stir up the atmosphere of sanctions against the DPRK on the international arena in an effort to block its cause of building a thriving nation.
The Lee group's trumpeting about "retaliation" under the pretext of the case of the warship is a carefully worked out provocation to secure a pretext for igniting a war of aggression against the DPRK.
It is the ultimate aim sought by the group in crying out for "retaliation" against the DPRK to round off the preparations for a war against it.
These facts disclose the sinister intention of the group of traitors to make its trumpeting about "retaliation" over the case of warship serve the treble purpose.
This is, however, nothing but bluffing reminiscent of a puppy knowing no fear of a tiger.
The DPRK regards the present situation created by the campaign of the south Korean puppet forces for "retaliating" against their innocent compatriots as a serious phase of a war.
The group of traitors would be well advised to stop going reckless, well aware of the merciless punishment to be meted out to them by the DPRK's unpredictably strong counter-measures.
Washington nuclear conference promotes US campaign against Iran, North Korea
By Patrick Martin
President Barack Obama opened the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington Monday, a two-day event that, in the guise of promoting disarmament and opposing terrorism, seeks to line up international support for the US campaign to isolate, pressure and ultimately overthrow the governments of Iran and North Korea.
Far from representing a break from the aggressive approach of the preceding Bush administration, the Obama policy is an effort to accomplish the same goal?US military domination of the Middle East, Central Asia and the world?using different language and somewhat altered tactics.
Instead of the confrontational posturing of Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld, the Obama administration employs the trappings of multilateralism and global summitry, hosting the largest gathering of heads of state on US soil since the 1945 San Francisco conference that founded the United Nations.
The aim, however, is the same: to create the conditions for stepped-up sanctions against Iran, to threaten North Korea with retaliation over its alleged trafficking in missiles and nuclear technology, and to sustain US military hegemony, both in conventional and nuclear weapons, against potential challenges from more formidable powers, including China and Russia.
The summit is part of a systematic effort by the Obama administration to prepare US and world public opinion either for outright US military aggression against Iran, or for the imposition of sanctions so severe that they would amount to economic warfare. Such sanctions could well provoke an Iranian response and allow the US to cloak its aggression in the guise of defending Israel, Saudi Arabia or another US ally in the region.
The entire conference is conducted on the basis of a grotesque double standard. The US government ostentatiously refused to invite the governments of three countries that are deemed hostile?Iran, North Korea and Syria?claiming they were in violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
This claim has no validity under international law: Iran and Syria are both signatories to the NPT and are cooperating with inspections conducted by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the arm of the United Nations charged with overseeing compliance with the NPT. North Korea was in the past a signatory to the NPT, but withdrew, as is permitted under the treaty, in 2006.
By contrast, the Obama administration invited three countries that have publicly flouted the NPT and conducted extensive and successful programs to develop nuclear weapons?Israel, Pakistan and India?because they are all key US allies.
Pakistan and India are represented at the Washington conference by their heads of government. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had initially planned to attend, abruptly reversed course and sent a deputy instead, amid reports that Arab countries were planning to raise the issue of Israel¡¯s nuclear weapons arsenal in the course of the summit.
The summit agenda, as mapped out by the White House and State Department, excludes any actual discussion of the main nuclear danger confronting humanity?the enormous arsenals in the possession of the United States and Russia, still more than sufficient to wipe out every person on the planet. Nor will the large nuclear weapons stockpiles of Britain, France, China and the three non-NPT countries, Israel, Pakistan and India, be in question.
Instead, the entire focus is on preventing ¡°non-state actors,¡± such as Al Qaeda, from obtaining access to nuclear materials. Despite the well known hostility of Al Qaeda towards the Shi¡¯ite clerical regime in Iran, the danger of nuclear-armed ¡°terrorism¡± is being used as a pretext and cover for the US-led campaign against Tehran.
The hypocrisy is staggering. The nuclear-armed and nuclear-capable states represented at the Washington conference have an estimated 2,100 tons of nuclear material among them, enough to make 120,000 atomic weapons and destroy the planet thousands of times over.
But far from destroying nuclear weapons, the aim is to maintain the monopoly on these means of mass murder in the hands of the states that currently possess them, with the largest share controlled by the United States, the only country that has used nuclear weapons in war, in the incineration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
Like most international summits, the actual proceedings, which are to take place Tuesday, are for show. The communiqu? to be adopted has already been drafted and circulated to the major powers. It calls for a crackdown on smuggling highly enriched uranium and plutonium, for intensified security measures on national stockpiles, to be implemented over the next four years, and for the voluntary relinquishment of such materials by individual countries.
Chile and Ukraine both announced they would give up their stocks of highly enriched uranium as the summit opened?actions for which they expect considerable financial reward from Washington.
More significant than Tuesday¡¯s proceedings, however, are the series of bilateral meetings before and during the conference. Among those participating in one-on-one meetings with Obama are the leaders of China, Pakistan, India, South Africa, Kazakhstan, Nigeria and Jordan.
The essential premise of the Washington summit, as enunciated by Obama, is the claim that ¡°the single biggest threat to US security, both short-term, medium-term and long-term, would be the possibility of a terrorist organization obtaining a nuclear weapon.¡± But the ¡°single biggest threat¡± to mankind is not Al Qaeda, whatever its reactionary aspirations, but the danger of new imperialist wars involving capitalist states that already possess substantial nuclear arsenals.
While Obama spouted vague rhetoric about a world free of nuclear weapons, his top national security lieutenants, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, were making the rounds of the Sunday television talk shows, boasting of the military strength of the United States and its robust nuclear capabilities.
Clinton threatened unnamed US adversaries?clearly implying Iran and North Korea?with potential nuclear attack. She was repudiating criticism by congressional Republicans who claimed that the nuclear war doctrine issued by the Pentagon last week was too restrictive.
¡°We leave ourselves a lot of room for contingencies,¡± she said. ¡°If we can prove that a biological attack originated in a country that attacked us, then all bets are off.¡±
Gates used the identical language when asked why Iran and North Korea were considered exceptions: ¡°Well, because they¡¯re not in compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. So for them, all bets are off. All options are on the table.¡±
The broader US nuclear agenda is geared toward an upcoming conference at the United Nations next month, the eighth review conference for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. When the NPT was first ratified in 1970, the nuclear-armed powers pledged to reduce and eventually eliminate their arsenals, in return for agreement by the non-nuclear powers not to develop similar weapons.
In the 40 years that have passed, nearly all the non-nuclear powers have complied with the treaty, without the slightest sign that the nuclear powers would scrap their weapons systems. Instead, the regular five-year reviews have become the occasion for the United States to flex its muscles against regimes regarded as hostile?in the past, Saddam Hussein¡¯s Iraq and Muammar Gaddafi¡¯s Libya; today, Iran and North Korea.
The upcoming NPT review session is expected to feature US demands for more intrusive inspection of the nuclear programs of member states, something that many NPT signatories are reluctant to undergo, since they regard the IAEA as largely an instrument of the United States.
The US has also raised the possibility of amending the NPT so as to abolish the right of all countries to have a full-cycle civilian nuclear program, including the production of nuclear fuel. This would provide a legal cover for its current campaign against Iran.
Besides the immediate focus on Iran and North Korea, the Obama administration champions a non-proliferation regime with an additional purpose: to lock in the tremendous advantages that the US now enjoys in the size and technical sophistication of its nuclear arsenal. (Source: World Socialist Website)
S. Korean Authority Accused of Blocking Resumption of Tour
Pyongyang, March 19 (KCNA) -- The General Scenic Spots Development Guidance Bureau of the DPRK issued a detailed report Friday condemning the conservative group of south Korea for having suspended the tour of Mt. Kumgang and the Kaesong area.
Accusing the south Korean puppet clique of making outcry, asserting the "incident of a tourist in Mt. Kumgang" which occurred in July 2008 was "an excessive retaliation" and "a bullet was fired at the defenseless tourist," the report says this was as preposterous and brazen-faced sophism as patting a stray dog on the back.
As for the accountability for the "incident," it took place due to the carelessness of the victim in every respect and the responsibility for it rests with the south Korean authorities who failed to properly take care and control the tourists, the report says.
It gives a detailed account of the truth about the incident.
The conservative group of south Korea put the "probe into the truth" behind the "above-said incident," "guarantee of safety of tourists" and measures for the "prevention of recurrence of similar incident" as "three preconditions" and asserted that the tour cannot be resumed unless they are met and that the "government remains unchanged in this stand," the report points out, adding:
This is nothing but deliberate efforts to scotch the tour.
As for the safety of tourists and measures for the prevention of recurrence of similar incidents, the north and the south reached an agreement on them after having an exhaustive discussion and the north side assured the south side of them on several occasions as separate issues.
The puppet conservative group including the "Ministry of Unification" is standing in the way of resuming the tour of Mt. Kumgang and the Kaesong area, citing the "three preconditions" as pretext, not prompted by its true concern about the safety of south Korean tourists or worry about the recurrence of the tourist incident.
Citing facts to prove this, the report goes on to say:
By nature the puppet regime has never been concerned about the safety and lives of people as it has regarded sycophancy, treachery and fascist dictatorship as its physiology, kowtowing to the U.S.
Delegates of the south side, sitting at the negotiating table with the north side, staged such charade as "paying silent tribute" to the deceased tourist and raised a hue and cry over "personal safety" and the like in a desperate bid to block the above-said tour. The ulterior aim sought by them through this behavior is to escalate the row of nuclear confrontation with the DPRK and tighten the "sanctions" against it, pursuant to the U.S.
Also lurking behind the attitude of the conservative group is a sinister aim to drive the inter-Korean relations to catastrophe in violation of the north-south joint declaration and build a higher barrier of division and confrontation, going against national reconciliation, unity and reunification.
It is as clear as a pikestaff that it is impossible to settle the issue of resuming the tour no matter how many times the north and south sides may sit at the negotiating table unless the south Korean authorities roll back their policy of confrontation against reunification.
The denial of the resumption of the tour means a denial of the inter-Korean relations and that of the north-south joint declaration and reconciliation, unity and reunification.
The puppet conservative group is sadly mistaken if it calculates it can gain something by blocking the above-said tour.
The south Korean authorities would be well advised to properly understand the gravity of the situation and behave themselves.
S. Korean "Prime Minister's" Anti-reunification Remarks Flayed
Pyongyang, February 12 (KCNA) -- "Prime Minister" of south Korea Jong Un Chan advocated "unification of systems" in an "interpellation at the National Assembly".
This is an unpardonable challenge to all the fellow countrymen desirous of the peaceful reunification based on reconciliation and cooperation of the nation and a serious political provocation to the DPRK making sincere efforts to improve the inter-Korean relations, Rodong Sinmun says in a signed commentary Friday.
The theory of "one country of one nation, one state, one system and one government" is a theory of anti-DPRK confrontation and war aimed to extend the "system of liberal democracy" to the northern half of Korea, it charges, and goes on to say:
The confrontation between the two systems and the "unification of systems" will bring nothing but a war between the fellow countrymen.
The facts prove that the south Korean conservative ruling forces dreaming of "unification under the system of liberal democracy" are phony politicians bereft of sense of the times and the reason.
The most reasonable way for the Korean nation to reunify the country is to found the Democratic Federal Republic of Koryo based on one nation, one state, two systems and two governments.
The south Korean authorities are warned again to discard their foolish and crude daydream. The confrontation between the systems will only result in a war that will lead the inter-Korean relations to collapse and the stronghold of the conservative group to total ruin.
They had better behave themselves, mindful of our warning.
Japan's Hypocritical "Three Nonnuclear Principles"
Pyongyang, December 9 (KCNA) -- Kyodo News recently reported that the former government of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan "lobbied the U.S. for confidence-building", claiming that the "U.S. unilateral nuclear disarmament may blunt the 'nuclear umbrella'".
Rodong Sinmun Wednesday observes in a signed commentary in this regard: This claim brought into bolder relief the absurdity and hypocrisy of the "three non-nuclear principles" touted by Japan so far.
Japan, the world's only atomic-bombed country, adopted the above-said three principles banning introduction, manufacture and possession of nuclear weapons as its state policy, saying that it "hates nukes". But the U.S.-Japan secret nuclear agreement virtually reduced these principles to a mere slogan from the very day they were enunciated.
Japan, however, continues advocating the "three non-nuclear principles", feigning ignorance of the above-mentioned secret nuclear agreement with the U.S. Lurking behind this is its sinister intention to press for nuclear weaponization at the tacit connivance of its American master and under his patronage in return for allowing the U.S. shipment and deployment of nuclear weapons in Japan.
It is an invariable wild ambition of Japan and its strategic goal for emerging a military power to go nuclear.
The Japanese militarists have stepped up nuclear weaponization overtly and covertly, grumbling that Japan sustained a defeat in World War II because it was weak and had no access to nukes.
Japan's nuclear weaponization is becoming a reality, not just speculation and hypothesis. The danger of such moves lies in that Japan seeks to launch overseas aggression for world domination after going nuclear.
Japan's much-touted "three non-nuclear principles" remain in name only. They are nothing but a fig-leaf for covering up its nuclear ambition as it is a deception and mockery of the international community.
With no trite trick can Japan conceal its ambition for nuclear weaponization.
Establishment of New International Economic Order Called for
Pyongyang, October 26 (KCNA) -- It is essential for social progress and prosperity of developing countries in the new century to remove the old international economic order and establish new and fair one. Rodong Sinmun Monday says this in a signed article.
It goes on: What the imperialists seek is to keep and consolidate the old international economic order and further intensify exploitation and plunder against developing countries and, furthermore, realize their economic domination over the world.
The establishment of new international economic order on the principle of respect for sovereignty would help ensure relations of mutual respect and equality among countries in the economic field and, moreover, boost economic exchange and cooperation.
This is also beneficial to guaranteeing developing countries political stability and sustained development.
The establishment of the said order on the principle of respect for sovereignty and equality will pave a wide avenue for each country and nation to keep steady multifaceted economic development and preserve its characteristics.
In order to establish the said order, it is necessary for all the countries of the world to establish and maintain equal relations.
The equal relations promote concord and friendship among countries and nations.
The Korean people will raise it as the important historic task for the development in the new century to establish the new international economic order on the principle of respect for sovereignty and equality and wage a dynamic struggle to this end and thus contribute to realizing it, the article concludes.
Key dates in life of S Korea's Kim Dae-jung
By The Associated Press (AP)
Jan. 6, 1924 - Born in South Jeolla province in southwestern Korea during era of Japanese colonial rule. Some sources say he was born in 1925.
May 1961 - Elected to the National Assembly. Days later, Maj. Gen. Park Chung-hee seizes power in military coup and dissolves parliament.
July 1963 - Kim elected again to National Assembly.
April 1971 - Marginally loses the presidential election to Park Chung-hee.
May 1971 - Injured in car accident, leaving him with a permanent limp. Some believe it was an assassination attempt.
October 1972 - Goes into exile in Japan in protest against new constitution introduced by Park securing his future rule.
Aug. 8, 1973 - Kidnapped by suspected South Korean agents from Tokyo hotel. Released five days later following U.S. intervention; upon return to Seoul, is placed under house arrest, banned from politics and eventually imprisoned.
December 1978 - Released from prison, placed under house arrest.
Oct. 26, 1979 - Park assassinated by spy chief.
December 1979 - Kim is pardoned and freed.
May 1980 - Tens of thousands rise up in Gwangju to protest military rule; Kim is imprisoned on treason charges and sentenced to death by military tribunal.
January 1981 - Death sentence commuted to life in prison.
March 1982 - Life sentence commuted to 20 years.
Dec. 23, 1982 - Kim's prison term is suspended; he heads to U.S. for exile.
February 1985 - Returns to South Korea and is placed under house arrest.
June 1987 - Cleared of all charges.
Dec. 16, 1987 - Loses presidential election to Roh Tae-woo, a former general.
Dec. 18, 1992 - Loses presidential election to Kim Young-sam, another former dissident.
December 1997 - Elected president of South Korea.
June 15, 2000 - Meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang in landmark summit.
December 2000 - Awarded Nobel Peace Prize for easing decades of tension with the North with the "Sunshine Policy" of offering Pyongyang aid.
February 2003 - Leaves office and is succeeded by Roh Moo-hyun.
July 13, 2009 - Hospitalized with pneumonia.
Aug. 18, 2009 - Dies in Seoul at age 85.
More Dynamic Movement for National Reunification Called for
Pyongyang, July 16 (KCNA) -- The south Korean authorities are getting evermore undisguised in their repressive offensive to crack down upon and stamp out the pro-reunification democratic forces. This reality urgently requires the pro-reunification democratic forces to firmly unite under the banner of the north-south joint declaration in order to resolutely frustrate the anti-reunification repressive offensive of the group of traitors and to reenergize the movement for national reunification.
Rodong Sinmun Thursday observes this in a signed article.
It goes on: Tremendous is the strength of the popular masses united close as one with the will for reunification and patriotism. Only when they rely on their strength is it possible to frustrate any frantic fascist repressive offensive of the anti-reunification forces and bring about a surge in the movement for national reunification.
The June 15 joint declaration and the October 4 declaration serve as a great programme for the country's reunification common to the nation and a banner of national unity.
Whoever stands for the country's reunification should resolutely defend and support the said declarations and increase solidarity and alliance in the struggle to implement them. This represents the unity of the pro-reunification democratic forces.
The brutal suppression of the progressive organizations in south Korea is little short of an unpardonable anti-reunification fascist offensive as it is aimed at branding all activities to achieve the concord of the nation and the country's reunification and co-prosperity by implementing the said declarations as "illegal" and "enemy-benefiting" ones and indiscriminately suppressing them and stamping out the movement for the country's reunification.
If these repressive actions are allowed to go on, not only the above-said organizations but all the progressive organizations of the reunification movement in south Korea will fall victim to the fascist crackdown at the point of bayonet and this will entail irrevocable grave consequences.
The only way out is for the pro-reunification democratic forces of various circles to decisively frustrate the fascist repressive offensive of the group of traitors going against the trend of the June 15 era of reunification by their concerted efforts.
Kim Jong-il shifts to plan B -By Kim Myong Chol
"Upholding national dignity is much more valuable than a full granary."
- Koguryo's most illustrious statesman Yon Kaesomun (603 - 666)
"People cannot expect to be well off unless their country is independent."
- Yi Korean Dynasty's 4th King Sejong the Great (1397-1450)
"What is of fundamental interest to the destiny and fate of a nation is to safeguard its independence."
- Korean leader Kim Jong-il
PYONGYANG - In his drive to build a mighty and prosperous country and have the divided Land of Morning Calm reunified in an independent and peaceful manner, all indications are that Kim Jong-il, supreme leader of the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea (DPRK), has finalized a little-known watershed decision in March to shift to a "plan B" after more than a dozen years of fruitlessly pursuing "plan A".
The South Koreans now seem to be aware that the Kim Jong-il administration has shifted to plan B. The Financial Times reported on May 14, "South Korea is increasingly concerned that North Korea's latest threat to process plutonium to expand its nuclear arsenal is no longer a negotiating ploy to gain leverage with the US."
The shift to plan B is a result of a critical policy review of the first three months of the United States Barack Obama administration and the 16 years of the two previous administrations of Bill Clinton and George W Bush.
Plan A's failure
Plan A called for the DPRK to consider exploring a shortcut to enhanced independence, peace and prosperity through rapprochement with the US. Plan A obliged the Kim Jong-il administration to negotiate away its nuclear weapons program as part of a verified denuclearization of the whole of the Korean Peninsula in return for Washington's strategic decision to co-exist peacefully with Pyongyang.
Plan A assumed the US would decide to leave behind its policy of hostility to the DPRK, conclude a peace treaty with North Korea, and pledge in a verifiable way it would not attack it with nuclear and conventional arms. It also assumed the US would establish full relations with North Korea, show respect for its sovereignty and independence, lift sanctions imposed on it, and provide it with fuel oil and light-water reactors.
Plan A was the engine behind the 1994 Agreed Framework with the Clinton administration and a series of nuclear agreements from six-party talks with the Bush administration, including the September 19, 2005 joint statement, the February 13, 2007 agreement, the October 3, 2007 agreement and the July 12, 2008 agreement.
Despite plan A, the US has remained hostile to North Korea as it is bent on its nuclear disarmament, painting it as a criminal state, and toppling its regime.
The Clinton administration did not want to fulfill the US's obligations under nuclear agreements and procrastinated for years, secretly betting on the collapse of the DPRK. The Bush administration was more overtly antagonistic, branding the DPRK as part of the "axis of evil", singling out it as a prime target for a nuclear pre-emptive strike, and moving to discard the nuclear agreement.
The US has not adopted a "live and let live" policy towards the DPRK, and it has refused to take any specific steps to reduce its nuclear threat to it, while North Korea was close to accepting full normalization of ties and a peace treaty with the US.
The Obama administration, which was launched with much fanfare and vows to reverse the disastrous policies of the Bush administration, has struck the Kim Jong-il administration as unmistakably no different from it in terms of hostility to the DPRK.
Compelling evidence came in three episodes. The first was the March 9-20 Key Resolve (Team Spirit) joint war games between the US and South Korea. Secondly, the US-led United Nation Security Council's (UNSC) condemnation of an innocuous April 5 satellite launch. The launch was a scientific research experiment partly intended to serve as a firework display to celebrate the re-election of Kim Jong-il as the all-powerful National Defense Commission, partly to demonstrate that North Korea has joined the two elite clubs of nuclear powers and space powers, and partly to signal it will join a third elite club of economic tigers by 2012. The third piece of compelling evidence is Obama's decision to overhaul and restart the Bush administration's military tribunals for Guantanamo Bay terrorism detainees.
The Key Resolve exercise presented a direct threat to the national security of the DPRK and served as potent evidence of the US's unchanged readiness to invade it whenever it is off guard. Its cancellation might have sent a positive message that the Obama administration would be willing to roll back the hostile policy of successive administrations to Pyongyang.
The Clinton administration's chief negotiator Robert Galluchi told the Japanese daily newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun that it was a mistake for the Obama administration to bring the North Korean satellite launch before the UN and not to have direct talks with North Korea. The US-initiated UNSC condemnation of the North Korean satellite launch was further proof of the Obama administration's true colors.
By taking this path the Obama administration has in three ways:seriously infringed on the inalienable sovereignty and national dignity of the DPRK:
Firstly, it has obviously attempted to hurt the prestige of Kim Jong-il in the eyes of the Korean people and spoil the festive mood that enveloped the DPRK in the wake of the re-election of Kim Jong-il as chairman of the National Defense Commission.
Secondly, every nation has a sovereign right to the peaceful use of outer space and the UNSC has never discussed a satellite launch by any other country. A total of 5,736 satellites were launched during a 50-year period from 1957 to the end of 2006 with the US and Russia accounting for about 88% of these and Japan placed the third with 119, representing a yearly worldwide average of approximately 120 satellites. In short, a satellite blasts off somewhere in the world every three days.
Thirdly, the UNSC could not even agree on a term for North Korean satellite, meaning it effectively condemned the launch of an unidentified flying objects or UFO. As Dr Gavan McCormack, professor of Australian National University wrote in Japan Focus on April 13:
Notably, the council nowhere spelled out what North Korea might have launched, for the simple reason that its members could not agree:
some thought missile, some thought satellite. Unable to agree on a noun, it therefore compromised with the verb 'launch'.
The council's strong and peremptory diplomatic language - 'condemns', 'demands', etc - was therefore oddly out of kilter with its inability to decide what it was condemning. Essentially it was saying North Korea was not to launch any more unidentified flying objects, or 'UFOs'. 'Whatever it was you launched', said the Security Council in effect, 'you should not have and you must not do it again.'
Plan B sees no point in talking with the US
The Kim Jong-il administration has learned the hard way that there is no point in negotiating with the US government on a bilateral or multilateral basis while the US remains hostile with no intention of adopting a "live and let live" policy towards Pyongyang.
Plan B envisages the DPRK going it alone as a fully fledged nuclear weapon-armed state, with a military-first policy, and then growing into a mighty and prosperous country. It will put the policy of seeking reconciliation with a tricky US, a helpless superpower with a crippled economy that is losing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, on the back burner.
The DPRK is equipped with all types of nuclear warheads, atomic, neutron and hydrogen, and their means of delivery puts the whole of the USA within effective range.
The Times of London wrote on April 24, 2009: "The world's intelligence agencies and defense experts are quietly acknowledging that North Korea has become a fully fledged nuclear power with the capacity to wipe out entire cities in Japan and South Korea."
The announced vow to quit six-party talks, restart nuclear facilities and conduct additional nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests is a clear message that the Kim Jong-il administration's decision to shift to plan B is irretrievable.
Plan B will help Kim Jong-il to be comfortable in the driver's seat, as he is responsible for the destiny and the wellbeing of his people, who are the inhabitants of ancestral Korean soil bequeathed by Dankun, founder of Korea 5,000 years ago and Chumong, founder of Koguryo 2,000 years ago.
Plan B calls for the DPRK to join all three elite clubs of nuclear, space and economic powers by 2012, without seeking improved ties or a peace treaty with the US, as the DPRK has built up an independent global nuclear strike force which can carry the war all the way to the metropolitan US rather than on the Korean Peninsula.
Kim Jong-il has stated: "The entire party, the entire armed force, the entire population should re-double their efforts to bring about a new revolutionary surge, convinced that victory is certain and showing the indomitable spirit and thus fling open the gate of a great prosperous powerful nation by 2012 and more strikingly demonstrate the dignity and might of Songun [military-first policy] Korea."
According to the May 14, 2009 Financial Times, "South Korean officials initially saw the sabre-rattling as an effort to test relatively inexperienced presidents in Seoul and Washington. But now they suspect it is part of a propaganda campaign to become a 'mighty nation' by 2012, the centenary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, the nation's founder."
But for the hard-earned nuclear deterrent, the Korean Peninsula might have been reduced to a second Iraq, with the two booming economies of China, South Korea and Japan devastated in the expanding war. The US ought to have suffered dozens of trillion dollars in war spending.
Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing could at least have expressed private appreciation of the nuclear capability of the DPRK.
This fact was underlined by a former US assistant secretary of defense in an op-ed published in the March 12, 2003 edition of the Los Angeles Times, Professor Joseph Nye at Harvard's Kennedy School of Administration, said: "The decision to focus on Iraq rather than North Korea shows that deterrence works, but in this case what it shows is North Korea's ability to deter the United States."
Reporting on the calculations of the true cost of the war by Harvard's Linda Bilmes and Nobel-prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, the Toronto Star wrote on January 21, 2008:
They determined that, once you factor in things like medical costs for injured troops, higher oil prices and replenishing the military, the war will cost America upwards of $2 trillion. That doesn't include any of the costs incurred by Iraq, or America's coalition partners.
The $2 trillion cost is simply as a result of fighting what the US calls "asymmetrical warfare" with tiny ragtag armed groups that possess none of a modern military force's trappings such as radars, tanks, heavy artillery pieces, armed drones, warplanes, missiles, Depleted uranium ammunition, and cluster bombs
The cost of fighting a nuclear-armed fortress DPRK would be dozens of times greater than that of the Iraq war.
The July/August 2005 edition of the Atlantic Monthly magazine observes:
Dealing with North Korea could make Iraq look like child's play - and the longer we wait, the harder it will get. That's the message of a Pentagon-style war game involving some of this country's most prominent foreign-policy strategists.
Kim Myong Chol is author of a number of books and papers in Korean, Japanese and English on North Korea, including Kim Jong-il's Strategy for Reunification. He has a PhD from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's Academy of Social Sciences and is often called an "unofficial" spokesman of Kim Jong-il and North Korea. (Copyright 2009 Kim Myong Chol.)