Olympic games

The courageous initiative by Democratic Korean leader Kim Jong Un that led to the creation of a united Korean sports team at the Winter Olympics currently taking place in south Korea has had an immediate impact on the Korean peninsula. The overwhelming response of the south Korean public to the joint team competing under the blue and white banner of the Korean Unification Flag has been matched by an easing of tension across the armistice line which, hopefully, will lead to a positive response to Democratic Korean peace proposals by the south Korean authorities.

    The high-level DPRK delegation that took part in the opening ceremonies in Pyeongchang, that included north Korea’s ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam and Kim Yo Jong, the younger sister of the DPRK leader, held talks with the south Korean leadership during their stay. South Korean president Moon Jae In has been invited to meet Kim Jong Un in the north firing speculation that this may take place on the 15th August, the day the Korean peninsula was liberated from the Japanese army in 1945 that is now a public holiday in both Koreas.

US imperialism did it best to spoil the Olympic spirit at the games through the presence of US Vice-President Mike Pence. Pence and his wife refused to stand up for the combined Korean team's entrance at the games' opening ceremony. At a reception for delegation leaders, Pence arrived late and stayed for just five minutes after pointedly ignoring the north Korean representatives. Now he claims he was ready to meet the north Korean delegation but they cried off at the last minute. No one believes him just as no one can trust the word of his master Donald Trump.

    It is clear that left to their own devices the south Koreans are ready to respond realistically and positively to DPRK peace proposals. It is equally clear that the real threat to peace on the Korean peninsula comes from US imperialism. The DPRK has had no choice but to develop its nuclear energy programme and its own independent nuclear deterrent. The DPRK threatens no one. Its enemies are close by. An American nuclear armada is stationed off the Korean coast and thousands of US troops are in south Korea and Japan. The US wants to perpetuate the division of Korea and ultimately to extinguish socialism in the Korean peninsula. We must stand by the DPRK and condemn all imperialist threats and   manoeuvres.