No to Sanctions! No to War!

By New Worker correspondent

Solidarity activists were out in force on Tuesday 23rd August, scoring a double-whammy with afternoon protest pickets outside both the puppet south Korean embassy in Westminster and the centre of US imperialism in Mayfair’s Grosvenor Square.

outside the puppet south Korean embassy

New Communist Party (NCP) leader Andy Brooks and other London comrades joined Korean Friendship activists at both pickets called by the Korean Friendship Association (KFA) to protest against the current US war-games in occupied south Korea and to denounce the recent wave of arrests of trade union militants by the puppet regime in Seoul. 

Dermot Hudson, UK KFA chair, took the mike to denounce US imperialism and its local south Korean lackeys for ratcheting up tension on the Korean peninsula and threatening world peace with the deployment of THAAD [Terminal High Altitude Area Defence] missiles that clearly threatened the security of Russia and People’s China.

and then to Grosvenor Square

After an hour outside the south Korean embassy the picket moved on to the West End to continue the demonstration outside the US embassy in Grosvenor Square.  A number of passers-by joined in discussions with the pickets and took photos of the banners – and one Arab tourist from the Gulf joined the protesters in solidarity with their progressive demands! 

Day of Liberation

                                                                                                             

Dermot Hudson and Andy Brooks

by New Worker   correspondent

Friends of the Korean people met in central London last weekend to celebrate Songun Day and the liberation of Korea by the Korean People’s Army commanded by great leader Kim Il Sung.

The Korean Friendship Association (KFA) meeting, at the Chadswell Centre on 20^th August, was opened by Dermot Hudson and followed by keynote openings from Alexander Meads and Professor Harish Gupta, the director general of the International Institute of the Juche Idea and head of the Asian Regional Institute for the Study of the Juche Idea.

            Alexander outlined the history of the Korean people’s struggle against Japanese colonialism that saw the birth of the communist movement led by Kim Il Sung and the communist-led guerilla war that ended in victory in 1945.

   Prof Gupta stressed the importance of the armed forces in his talk, saying that "the great leader President Kim Il Sung charted out the path of the Korean revolution in a meeting held in Kalun, China from 30^th June–2^nd July 1930. He exhorted the importance of strong armed forces. He advocated the principle of giving importance to arms in the revolutionary struggle of the masses – the core of the Songun idea. This meeting has special significance in the history of Korea because the idea of Songun politics was floated for the very first time. Thus the Songun idea, which elucidated the way for realising the masses’ independence by force of arms at the centre of consideration, was created as a revolutionary theory based on Juche philosophy.”

            Needless to say, the breaking news about the traitor Thae Yong Ho was a hot topic for discussion. Andy Brooks, the leader of the New Communist Party (NCP), said that the Korean revolution would continue and would not be defeated by the actions of one traitor. Andy stressed that the Democratic People#s Republic of Korea (DPRK), as well as the KFA and other friends of Korea, are on the front-line and we must not forget this.

 The KFA Communications Secretary Daniel Braggins read out a statement from the Korean Central News Agency denouncing Thae’s treachery – a view shared by everyone in the hall and reflected in a letter condemning the treachery of the former Korean diplomat, which was unanimously endorsed, together with a solidarity message to Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the close of the session.

Korean traitor flees to Seoul

By our Asia Affairs correspondent

A Democratic Korean envoy based in London who disappeared last month resurfaced in south Korea last week spouting the usual Cold War drivel about choosing “freedom” for the benefit of his new puppet regime handlers. But the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) says that Thae Yong Ho fled after being recalled to answer charges of selling state secrets, embezzling state funds and raping a minor.

            Thae, a senior diplomat well known on the Korean solidarity scene in London, had worked in London for about 10 years. According to the south Koreans, Thae had “cited disgust with [DPRK leader] Kim Jong Un's regime, admiration for South Korea's free, democratic system and the future of his family."

In fact the Democratic Korean authorities had recalled Thae in June to put him under investigation – and on 12^th July the DPRK's Central Procuratorate began a probe into the grave allegations against him.

“He deserved a legal punishment for his crimes,” a commentary on the Korean national news agency said. “But he took to flight, betraying his country and parents and other kith and kin. He thus revealed himself as human scum bereft of elementary sense of moral obligation and conscience.”

When Thae “disappeared” the DPRK informed the British government of the charges against him, along with a request for his extradition. This was ignored, not surprisingly, because the traitor was already under British protection. British intelligence, in tandem with an American “elite multi-agency group”, provided the transport for Thae and his family to leave the country, a fact confirmed by the Sunday Express last weekend.

The Sunday paper claimed that Thae “made his first contact with British intelligence agents two months ago at a golf club in Watford.”  The article goes on to say that Thae signed a letter of thanks he had previously began writing, which he asked to be hand-delivered to the Prime Minister Theresa May. whilst on the flight from RAF Brize Norton to the US Air Force base at Ramstein, in Germany. “Once in Germany,” the Sunday Express says, “the family and some of the agents were transferred to another aircraft, bound for Seoul.”

New Worker

26th August 2016 

• KCNA official statement

The Victory in Korea

Prof Harish Gupta makes his point

By New Worker correspondent

Solidarity activists marked the 63^rd anniversary of the end of the Korean War at a meeting in central London last Saturday afternoon. US imperialism, flying the false flag of the United Nations (UN) and backed by its allies that shamefully included the UK, attacked north Korea on 25th June 1950.

Beaten to a standstill, US imperialism was forced to sign an armistice in 1953 and to promise to hold free elections in south Korea to lead to the reunification of the country. Sixty six years later the Americans still occupy south Korea, propping up a puppet regime that rejects all Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) proposals to ease tension on the divided peninsula.

            The meeting, at the Chadswell Centre on 30th July, was called by the Juche Idea Study Group (JISGE) and chaired by Dermot Hudson. Hudson pointed out that this was the first JISGE meeting since the historic vote by the British people to leave the European Union (EU), which was a practical application of the Juche idea and reflected the desire of British people to live independently.

            Communist leader Kim Il Sung, who had led the victorious struggle against Japanese colonialism, took up the gun again to drive the Americans and their lackeys back in this second war of independence – a point made in the key-note address by Indian academic and Juche scholar Professor Harish Gupta.

            Professor Gupta, director general of the International Institute of the Juche Idea and head of the Asian Regional Institute for the Study of the Juche Idea, gave a detailed and informative lecture on Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism and its contribution to peace and sovereignty. He referred to the malevolent nature of imperialism particularly with regard to the Iraq war and exposed the double standards of American imperialism, which has ratcheted up the imperialist sanctions regime against Democratic Korea. He also exposed the false propaganda against People's Korea and explained the superiority of socialism.

Other speakers, including NCP leader Andy Brooks, said that the main factor in the Korean people's victory was their own efforts. Brooks said that the Korean people’s victory in 1953 was an inspiration to the communists and liberation forces throughout the world. The Vietnamese people, led by their communist leader Ho Chi Minh, who had kicked the French colonialists out, were double-crossed by US imperialism in 1954 and their country partitioned like Korea. A year later the people took up the gun again in south Vietnam to begin the struggle that eventually defeated US imperialism and reunified the country. Likewise the Egyptians, led by their charismatic leader Gamal Abdel Nasser, took on the might of Anglo-French imperialism, and their Zionist lackey Israel, when they nationalised the Suez Canal in 1956.

            The meeting agreed to send a solidarity meeting to DPRK leader Kim Jong Un before continuing informal discussion over light refreshments in the hall.

NCP Day at the Centre

Hyon Hak Bong and Alex Kempshall

By New Worker correspondent

 WE CELEBRATED the founding of the New Communist Party (NCP) in the usual way at a reception at the Party Centre in London on 9^th July. Friends and comrades, old and new, joined NCP leader Andy Brooks and Party Chair Alex Kempshall in celebrating the anniversary with speeches. food and drink, and a bumper collection that raised over £3,000!

NCP leader Andy Brooks spoke about the long struggle against revisionism and the fight for peace and socialism led by the Party that was established under the leadership of Sid French in July 1977.

Some friends, like our comrades in the RCPB (ML), were absent because they were taking part in the great Durham Miners’ Gala. Others, like Ambassador Hyon Hak Bong from the London embassy of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Dermot Hudson from the UK Korean Friendship Association, paid tribute to the NCP’s consistent solidarity and its staunch support for the communist ideal during the formal part of the proceedings.

Much of our efforts, National Treasurer Daphne Liddle said, revolve around the {New Worker}, which has survived for the past 39 years solely through the dedicated support of our readers. That was shown on the night with a collection that raised £3,111.69 for the fighting fund!