The peoples of the world today desire peace, and are opposed to any doctrine that suggests a pre-emptive war is necessary in order to achieve peace.
One of the targets of this doctrine is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Contrary to reactionary propaganda, the DPRK is in no way a threat to peace. The DPRK in fact stands for the peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula without outside interference, and in building a social system in which the people are in control of their own destiny, North Korea is also a powerful factor for peace.
The DPRK points out what is in fact the case, that the main threat to world peace and security is the striving by the United States for domination and dictate. They will not let their sovereign country go the way of Iraq and Afghanistan, and are prepared to resist open declarations of war by the traitorous regime in the south of Korea.
The people of the DPRK are forging ahead with building a prosperous country, but are having to do so in conditions of a divided Korean peninsula, tens of thousands of US soldiers stationed in the south with their nuclear threat, the threat of aggression from the south at the instigation of the US, and punitive and unjust sanctions.
In these conditions, the DPRK has taken the initiative and is calling for a formal peace treaty to replace the armistice agreement, still in place after the conclusion of the Korean War in 1953. They have pointed out that if mutual confidence is to be built between the DPRK and the US, it is essential to conclude a peace treaty for terminating the state of war, a root cause of the hostile relations, to begin with.
Anglo-US reaction, together with the hostile propagandists of south Korea, are attempting to combine military threats with slanders, lies and disinformation about the DPRK in order to turn back the clock, keep the Korean Peninsula divided and wipe out the gains that the people of the DPRK have achieved under socialism. The disinformation about the so-called "human rights issues" and the "nuclear issue", and the smearing of the DPRK as a "hermit kingdom", as a "failed" or "illegal" state, must be opposed by all democratic forces. The defence of the DPRK’s right to be is a must! Hands off Korea!
It is in this context that the Friends of Korea are organising this public meeting, which also marks the anniversary of the birth of leader of the Korean people Kim Jong Il, which falls on February 16. Kim Jong Il is the General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea, the Chairman of the National Defence Commission, and the Supreme Commander of the Korean People’s Army. In these capacities, he has led the Korean people in solving crucial tasks in building the DPRK as a powerful socialist society, in formulating significant concepts and programmes which put the Korean people in control of their own destiny, and in building the military defence of the DPRK which sets in motion the initiative of the Korean people in making the DPRK impregnable against imperialist aggression.
Friends of Korea calls on everyone who is interested not only in the situation on the Korean Peninsula, but in taking a stand against warmongering and aggression, to attend this public meeting. A panel comprised of participating organisations and individuals from Friends of Korea will make brief remarks, lead discussion and take questions regarding the reality of the DPRK and its role in world affairs.
Friends of Korea statement
