Friday, 31 December 2021
Sunday, 12 December 2021
Remembering a great Korean leader
Andy Brooks paid tribute to Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who died at his post in December 2011. Speaking at a meeting in central London last weekend called by the Korean Friendship Association (KFA), the NCP leader spoke about Kim Jong Il’s life-long service to the communist movement and the Korean people – from his early days in guiding art and culture, especially the cinema, to steering The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea through a difficult period that followed the passing of great leader Kim Il Sung in 1994.
Kim Jong Il led the Workers’ Party of Korea that mobilised the masses in the socialist north of the Korean peninsula to overcome natural disasters and imperialist blockade, and counter American threats by developing an independent nuclear deterrent.
KFA Chair Dermot Hudson stressed the importance of commemorating the life of Kim Jong Il who led the Korean people to defend and advance socialism, together with other speakers including Michael Chant, the leader of the RCPB (ML), and Shaun Pickford from the Staffordshire KFA.
A DPRK documentary was shown at the Marchmont Centre in Bloomsbury, a regular venue for Korean solidarity activists before the lockdown, called Turning Sorrow into Strength. Of that there can be no doubt, with the Korean people following the footsteps of the revolutionary leaders of the past to build the future with Kim Jong Un at the helm.
Saturday, 20 November 2021
Solidarity in Spain
The conference marked the 21st anniversary of the foundation of the KFA. The atmosphere of the meeting was militant and upbeat. There have been many provocations and attempts to shut down KFA over the years, such as denying the right of KFA President Alejandro Cao De Benos to travel by confiscating his passport. Despite these vicious moves KFA has survived and is expanding rapidly, with over 17,000 members registered worldwide.
The meeting was attended by activists, officials and KFA members from various parts of Spain, plus delegations from Germany and Britain.
Dermot Hudson, the chair of the KFA UK, said: “Over the past two years both KFA and KFA UK have come under attack from hostile forces but we have survived! KFA is attacked because we tell the truth about People's Korea. We defend People's Korea with No ifs or buts, often 24/7. We defend People's Korea with enthusiasm, we are not half-hearted about it. That is why they hate us so much. Our enemies want to shut down KFA and silence the voice of truth defending People's Korea.”
Friday, 12 November 2021
For peace on the Korean peninsula
NCP leader Andy Brooks, who chaired the Friends of Korea event, welcomed everyone to the meeting which was the first public event at the Centre since the lockdowns began in 2020. Most of them had visited Democratic Korea and all were supporters of the Friends of Korea committee that has been campaigning for the peaceful re-unification of the Korean peninsula for over 20 years.
This was stressed by Michael Chant, the secretary of the Committee, who emphasised the importance of taking a stand in support of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s right to exist and choose its own path of development, striving for peace and for the reunification of the Korean peninsula, and, as he said, “supporting the just stands of the DPRK internationally at this crucial time in the face of hostility from the United States and other big powers, including Britain”.
Though the imperialists have toned down their hate campaign their hostility still remains. “At the moment the imperialist mainstream media have tended to take the DPRK out of the news “ Dermot Hudson from the Korean Friendship Association said “although the hostile propaganda against the DPRK continues. Recently , the DPRK tested missiles which would have once led to hysterical headlines in the imperialist media for days on end. But this time it did not do so . This is because the imperialists have experienced a policy failure on the Korean peninsula ; military pressure and threats have not worked, sanctions have not worked and engagement such as Trump’s ‘big deal ‘ have not worked. The imperialist media does not like to talk about failure only success”.
Others shared their own views on the Korean issue including Keith Bennett, a veteran Korean solidarity campaigner, who helped draw up the Friends of Korea founding statement many years ago and everyone agreed on the need to redouble our efforts in the coming year.
The Co-ordinating Committee of the Friends of Korea is an umbrella organisation which brings together all the major movements active in Korean friendship and solidarity work in Britain today. It includes the NCP and the RCPB (ML), the Socialist Labour Party and the Korean Friendship Association. The Committee is chaired by Andy Brooks and the secretary is Michael Chant. The committee organises meetings throughout the year, which are publicised by the supporting movements and on the Friends of Korea blog.
On the situation on the Korean peninsula
by Dermot Hudson
a contribution made at a Friends of Korea seminar in London on Saturday 6th November 2021
The subject of the situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and around the Korean peninsula is a big and comprehensive one . At the moment the imperialist mainstream media have tended to ‘take the DPRK out of the news ‘, not mentioning it much , although the hostile propaganda against the DPRK continues. Recently, the DPRK tested missiles which would have once led to hysterical headlines in the imperialist media for days on end but this time it did not do so . This is because the imperialists have experienced a policy failure on the Korean peninsula ; military pressure and threats have not worked, sanctions have not worked and engagement such as Trump’s ‘big deal ‘ have not worked.The imperialist media does not like to talk about failure only success.
The current situation on the Korean peninsula is distinguished by the rapid progress of the DPRK in all fields despite the sanctions and by the continuation of the hostile policies of the US under the Biden administration.
From the 1st November to the 5th November the US and south Korea staged aerial wargames involving F15 and F16 fighters . These wargames were not announced prior and did not have a title.
The DPRK has recently celebrated the 73rd anniversary of the foundation of the DPRK and the 76th anniversary of the foundation of the Workers Party of Korea . The 73rd anniversary of the foundation of the DPRK was marked by a splendid parade of the Worker- Peasant Red Guard and Ministry of Public Security of the DPRK including for the first time in a DPRK parade fire engines and also dogs .
Today the DPRK is the only country in the world or one of the few countries in the world that does not have a case of COVID-19.This is confirmed by the World Health Organisation . This is due to the strict anti -epidemic measures of the DPRK government .
Self-reliance works ; the DPRK has been able to shut its borders for 21 months and still survive. Some countries would not survive for a few days let alone nearly two years . At present the UK is suffering from some shortages which some say are due to Brexit. Self-reliance works we should be shouting from the rooftops .
Despite false reports by the BBC , the DPRK has reaped a bumper harvest . Respected Marshal Kim Jong Un sent a message of thanks to farmworkers who achieved a bumper harvest despite the flooding in August . KFA UK had a Facebook posting debunking the false report of the BBC.
The Korean people are working in the spirit of self-reliance to implement the decisions of the 8th Congress of the Workers Party of Korea which was held in January this year
The key decisions of the Congress can be summarised as follows
Strengthening the independence of the economy
Tightening up the economic planning system
Improving people’s living standards
Implementing the people-orientated policy
Improving national defence
Combatting and eliminating anti-socialist and non -socialist practices
At the 8th Congress respected Marshal Kim Jong Un pointed out that “'The independent, planned and people-oriented characters of the national economy should be strengthened. To this end, it is necessary to raise the functions of the state that organizes economic affairs, and ensure unified management of products on the principle of making sure that the fruition of the economic activities is channelled into promoting the well-being of the people’
This essentially defines the nature of the DPRK as an independent economy, a people orientated economy and a planned economy rather than a market economy . It basically rejects ‘reform ‘ and ‘opening up ‘ . People like NKNews and Andrei Lankov who have spent about 10 years trying to say that the DPRK is becoming capitalist etc . This is a new form of anti DPRK propaganda aimed at denying support for the DPRK among socialist and communists by falsely portraying it as the same as the capitalist countries , although this does echo the earlier ‘convergence theory ‘ of the imperialists and former Trotskyites like James Burnham .
We must take note that the Biden administration may avoid direct confrontation with the DPRK but instead opt for a non physical , ideological confrontation with the DPRK which would include a renewed human rights offensive against the DPRK plus pressure on the DPRK to ‘reform ‘ and ‘open up’ .
Among the people-orientated measures is housing construction including the construction of 10,000 new homes in Pyongyang and housing in rural areas . This will be given to people free of charge .
In Samjiyon city in the far north of the DPRK last month over 1,000 people moved to new homes . In Namdong ri , south Pyongyan Province 700 families moved into new homes .
At the 3rd Plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers Party of Korea the epochal decision was taken to supply , free of charge, dairy products to all nursery and kindergarten children , Previously they had supplied Soya Milk to all children . This was a decision of Chairman Kim Jong Il in the days of the Arduous March .It is a slander that children are malnourished in the DPRK .
Other achievements such as the creation of 2,000 hectares of new land and increases in production in many industries have been achieved . In September many units fulfilled their 3rd quarterly plans .
With regard to the question of policy towards the USA respected Marshal Kim Jong Un made a very important speech On the Orientation of Present Struggle for a Fresh Development of Socialist Construction at the 5th Session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK on the 29th of September . He exposed the US fake peace offensive saying that “is no more than a petty trick for deceiving the international community and hiding its hostile acts and an extension of the hostile policy pursued by the successive U.S. administrations”.
He also called for the south Korean authorities to change their attitudes and at the same time called for the reopening of the inter-Korean communication lines . This was put into effect on the 4th of October.
Similarly comrade Kim Yo Jong , vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers Party of Korea (WPK and a newly elected member of the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK in a statement on the 27th of September said that the DPRK was willing to enter into dialogue and negotiations with south Korea , even to hold a 6th inter -Korean summit and sign an end of war declaration. However the US and south Korea must end their double standards for this to happen .
Peace is On Our Bayonets ! The DPRK ‘s self defence potential has been further boosted.
On the 16th September 2021 a Rail borne missile was successfully launched, greatly improving the tactical mobility of the DPRK ‘s strategic force . The DPRK is one of the few countries to have rail borne missiles.
A hypersonic missile was tested on the 29th September . On the 1st October an anti-aircraft missile was tested and on the 20th October a new type of Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile was tested.
The National Defence Exhibition at the Three Revolutions Exhibition was opened in October.The opening was accompanied by a fly past of jets and helicopters , a sky driver and a martial arts display . Marshal Kim Jong Un made a keynote speech in which he said the DPRK ‘s weapons are not targeted against any country and they are a deterrent . He dismissed the idea that the US was not hostile .
So to conclude the US hostile policy continues and although the DPRK is not in the news we must continue to step up solidarity .KFA UK has played its part by holding many online meetings and taking the initiative of launching an online monthly journal ‘ People’s Korea Today ‘.
Taking a Stand in Support of the DPRK’s Right to Be
by Michael Chant
a contribution made at a Friends of Korea seminar in London on Saturday 6th November 2021
Friends of Korea would once again like to emphasise the importance of taking a stand in support of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s right to exist and choose its own path of development, striving for peace and for the reunification of the Korean Peninsula; and of supporting the just stands of the DPRK internationally at this crucial time in the face of hostility from the United States and other big powers, including Britain.
For us, the priority is to provide information, combat disinformation and defend the DPRK’s right to be and the right to of the people to decide their own future. We have that duty in Britain, and that is the programme of the Friends of Korea. Thus we hope this seminar today, with its speakers and participants, will contribute towards this aim.
The first thing to grasp is who is hostile to whom. The US and Britain make wild accusations against the DPRK but any sober assessment of the situation shows that the danger comes from the US and its allies. The US stresses its role as the “indispensable nation”, and lashes out to combat any challenge to this. The US has entered into several known military agreements to surround and threaten the DPRK, China and indeed all the peoples in the Asia Pacific region. Already the US stations tens of thousands of troops and war materiel and equipment in Japan, south Korea and several south Pacific islands. The US military regularly sends warships and planes to prowl the waters surrounding China and the Korean Peninsula to probe and test the defences of both countries. The US is refusing to permit a peaceful political settlement of any issue in the Asia Pacific region.
These are not only measures against the DPRK, China and the whole Asia Pacific region, but are in fact directed against the interests of the peoples everywhere, and all these hostile measures are an affront to all who take an anti-war stand. This is a stand that Friends of Korea firmly takes. In fact, the US maintains a large military presence of bases, troops and war equipment in south Korea that is used to intimidate and blockade the DPRK, as well of course as threatening China. This is also aimed at suppressing the people’s democratic movement in the south of the Korean Peninsula for the peaceful reunification of the Korean nation.
Of note in this context is the AUKUS military pact. AUKUS is a trilateral military pact announced on September 15 involving Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The pact includes war preparations to attack the DPRK and China, and an agreement for Australia to buy nuclear powered submarines from the US war economy. The three war partners are to co-operate in sending warships and planes throughout the Asia Pacific region and co-ordinate spying and cyber-activity directed at the DPRK, China and all peoples of the region. Britain recently ordered its Royal Navy/Royal Air Force Carrier Strike Group led by the new multi-billion dollar HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier to sail provocatively close to China through the Taiwan Straits on September 27, mirroring the US move in August.
Britain is also participating in the illegal sanctions the European Union has imposed against the DPRK, despite having withdrawn from the EU. It is doing so specifically with the “Democratic People's Republic of Korea (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations”.
These hostile activities have constantly been addressed by the DPRK, and it is this that provides the aim of its defence and military capabilities. In the face of this hostility, the DPRK has waged its struggle for its right to be during the last 70 years and more in the face of US aggression, war and brutal sanctions. The principled stand of the DPRK is to uphold its sovereignty and dignity under all conditions.
The 8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea held in January addressed this question. The main thrust of the 8th Congress in this regard was that it reiterated the DPRK's determination to uphold its self-reliant Juche outlook, strengthen its independent economy to counter the brutal sanctions regime of the Anglo-Americans, and defend itself against threats and aggression from the US and others.
Noting in January that whoever became the US President, the real intentions of its policy toward the DPRK would never change, the report to the Congress stressed the need for an adroit strategy towards the US, at the same time as steadily expanding solidarity with the anti-imperialist, independent forces. The report also referred to the need to frustrate the reactionary offensive of the enemy and raise the prestige of the DPRK by enhancing the role of the external information sector. It stressed the need for the field of external work to further develop relations with the socialist countries, consolidate unity and co-operation with the revolutionary and progressive parties which aspire for independence, and for launching a dynamic joint struggle against imperialism on a worldwide scale so as to make the external environment of the DPRK ever-more favourable, it was reported.
The report expressed the steadfast determination of the WPK to reliably defend the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula as well as of the rest of the world. There is no country on this planet, it said, which is permanently exposed to the threat of war as is the DPRK, nor a country as strong in its people's desire for peace. Friends of Korea is fully behind these affirmations and sentiments expressed in the WPK report.
More recently, on October 11, in his commemorative speech at the Defence Development Exhibition, respected leader Kim Jong Un noted that the exhibition was an opportunity to see how the defence capability of the DPRK had developed. The DPRK is holding fast to the principle of self-defence, and developing military science and the munitions industry in this context, especially over the past five years, he emphasised.
Kim Jong Un said: “The core of our Party's defence policy is to defend our country and people by our own efforts, and contain any threat and challenge. It is to reliably and steadfastly safeguard peace by means of a steadily-developing, powerful defence capability.”
He pointed out that historically the Korean nation had suffered invasion by foreign forces, and has had to build socialism under the constant threats by hostile forces. In view of this lesson of the history of the nation and the demand and special character of the Korean revolution, he said, the building up of national defence is an indispensable and vital state affair which the Workers’ Party of Korea, together with the DPRK government and people, must not neglect for even a moment.
The DPRK leader underlined that the rapid development of military techniques and hardware is changing the aspect of military operations and the security environment of states in every region of the present world. “The military danger facing our state due to the military tension prevailing around the Korean peninsula is different from that ten or five, nay, three years ago,” he said.
“Seeing the contents of various military exercises the United States and south Korea frequently wage on the pretext of coping with what they call threats while talking about peace, cooperation and prosperity in public and south Korea's attempt to modernise its armaments which has recently become intolerably undisguised,” he said, “we can easily guess how military environment will change in the region of the Korean peninsula tomorrow. Recently, south Korea has been trying to upgrade the fighting efficiency of its army under the powerful sponsorship of the United States, bringing in a large number of cutting-edge weapons of various kinds including stealth joint strike fighters and high altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft.”
In fact, as the speech explained, the south is focusing on modernising its strike weapons of different kinds. It is developing various warheads and extending the range of its missiles so as to upgrade its overall missile capacity. The military objective of these strike weapons is clear. It is the DPRK. The south is also working to develop the combat efficiency of its submarines and is developing fighter aircraft. “South Korea's attempt,” the speech said, “is too dangerous to be left to itself, but what is more dangerous is its justification for modernising its armaments and its hypocritical double-dealing attitude.”
What of relations between the DPRK and the Republic of Korea in this context? It can be said that whenever the Korean people have made headway in building inter-Korean relations and strengthening the movement for reunification, the US imperialists have intervened to sabotage these efforts. This remains the case.
The 8th Congress of the WPK had noted that in terms of its relations with the US, the DPRK has no illusions and will engage in relations on the basis of "goodwill for goodwill and power for power". The Congress had laid down that the DPRK will be developing and strengthening its international relations in support of the cause of peace and justice everywhere, extending a hand of friendship to all who reciprocate. As Kim Jong Un said at the Defence Development Exhibition, “Our arch-enemy is war itself, not south Korea, the United States or any other specific state or forces.”
In conclusion, it can be said that the DPRK conducts its foreign relations on the basis of principle and upholding its right to be. Contrary to the disinformation carried by the imperialist system of states that the DPRK is a violator of human rights, it is the draconian sanctions imposed by the US, Britain, and others that constitute gross human rights violations, acts of war and collective punishment against the people of the DPRK, which is doing its utmost to defend the rights of its people against this aggression.
The decisive factor in the future of Korea is the Korean people themselves, not anyone or any other power, and their drive for peace and reunification is bound to eventually succeed.
Finally, Friends of Korea would like to emphasise once again the importance of speaking out in defence of the DPRK and its right to be. This is crucial in the context of the continued attacks on it by the US imperialists and their allies including the British government.
We stand as one with the DPRK in its right to pursue its own path of social development, which they must be allowed to do without the threat of war, aggression, sanctions and interference of any kind. We have every confidence in the resilience of the DPRK and the justice of its cause. Friends of Korea will redouble its efforts in its work to embody the friendship and solidarity of democratic people in this country in support of the DPRK’s right to be. This is a matter of war and peace, with the DPRK contributing to the cause of peace on the Korean Peninsula, in the Asia Pacific region and internationally.
Tuesday, 19 October 2021
Solidarity with Korea in London
Dermot Hudson pointed out that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is the only country in the world without a single death or indeed a single case of COVID‑19, and Theo Russell drew attention to the role played by the WPK in rallying the socialist and communist forces after the counter-revolutionary wave that swept away the Soviet Union and the people’s democracies of eastern Europe.
The DPRK Embassy in London sent a paper to the meeting that stressed the leadership of the WPK general secretary Kim Jong Un and the role of the WPK in raising living standards, which was followed by a general discussion about the current situation and future solidarity work.
Tuesday, 5 October 2021
Defending Korea in the West Country
Alan Bolon explains Juche
by New Worker correspondent
Wednesday, 22 September 2021
A Test for Peace
Eight countries openly possess nuclear weapons. These include the Big Five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. The USA has an immense arsenal, as does Britain. France also possesses substantial stocks of nuclear weapons. So do China and Russia, along with India, Pakistan and the DPRK.
The USA is the only country to have ever used nuclear weapons on a civilian population. Since the Second World War they have threatened to use nuclear weapons against other countries – including those that don't possess nuclear weapons – whereas People’s China and Democratic Korea are the only nuclear powers to pledge not to be the first to use nuclear weapons at any time or under any circumstance.
Although this test is clearly a response to the joint US/south Korean war-games last month, there’s been the usual bleating from the Americans and their Japanese and south Korean lackeys. They conveniently forget to mention the fact that the USA has lifted a 42-year-old restriction on the south Korean missile development programme, allowing the puppet regime to develop ballistic missiles capable of reaching targets far beyond the Korean Peninsula, or that the south Koreans test-fired one of their own submarine-launched ballistic missile last weekend.
The Americans think they can ignore and isolate the people’s government in north Korea. They want to perpetuate the division of Korea to strengthen US hegemony over East Asia and turn the Pacific into an American lake. But they can’t ignore the DPRK.
Kim Jong Il, who led the DPRK through thick and thin to overcome natural disasters, imperialist blockade and diplomatic isolation until his death in 2011, famously said that “there can be no world without Korea”. He was right. The world, the imperialist world, must not, and indeed cannot, forget the criminal partition of the Korean peninsula through the US occupation of the south after the Second World War. This unjust and unlawful division remains a constant source of tension today. We stand by the DPRK and condemn the imperialist aims and threats.
Monday, 30 August 2021
Defending Democratic Korea!
The protest, called by the Korean Friendship Association (KFA), highlighted Britain’s involvement in new American provocations on the Korean peninsula that include the current military exercises in south Korea and the despatch a Royal Navy carrier strike force to Korean waters.
Millions of pounds are being squandered to do the bidding of US imperialism in taking part in war games that are a direct violation of the inter-Korean agreements of 2018 and the DPRK-US joint statement which were hailed by the world as giving the hope of peace.
The last KFA picket in Whitehall was back in September 2020. But pickets had been a regular feature of KFA work in the capital before the lockdown. Now after an 11 month break due to Covid restrictions the solidarity movement plans to return to public campaigning on the street. KFA Chair Dermot Hudson said future plans include resuming public meetings in London and returning to Whitehall on a regular basis throughout the year.
Tuesday, 13 July 2021
DRIVING BACK THE INVADERS
Under the Moscow agreement of December 1945, it had been agreed by Britain, the USA and the USSR that after its liberation from Japanese rule, Korea would become a unified, independent, democratic state. In violation of this agreement, the government of the USA took advantage of the provisional military occupation by the victorious powers to set up a regime in south Korea subservient to Washington. The USA poured money into south Korea together with weapons and military advisers.
In spite of the economic crisis that was beginning to make itself felt in the USA, 1,225 million dollars was invested in south Korea. The New Corea Company, whose assets were formerly owned by a Japanese trust, was floated and its shares marketed by the National City Bank. Among its assets, the New Corea Company claimed half the mines, railways,banks and arable land in north Korea!
The Oriental Consolidated Mining Company, also formerly Japanese but now in American hands, claimed ownership of the Unsan gold mines, also in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and said to be the richest in all Asia.
The President of south Korea was Syngman Rhee, a man who had spent 30 years in the United States and who had been brought back to south Korea to head the puppet government set up by the Americans. Syngman Rhee abolished the free press and liquidated the political opposition with brutal violence. In an interview with United Press, on 7th October 1949,
Syngman Rhee boasted that the South Korean army could take the north Korean capital of Pyongyang within three days. On the 1st November, the New York Herald Tribune reported that Syn Sung Mo, the south Korean War Minister had declared that his army was ready and waiting to push into north Korea. There had already been a considerable number of border
incidents.
At a conference with his divisional commanders in Seoul during October 1949 General Roberts, Chief of the American Military Mission in Korea, said: "Certainly there have been many attacks on the territory north of the 38th parallel on my orders, and there will be many others in the days to come ... From now on, the invasion by the land forces of the
territory north of the 38th parallel is to be carried out only on the basis of orders of the American military mission."
This is quoted in Thus Wars Are Made by Albert Norden, who also tells us that three months later, in January 1950, General Roberts announced: "The campaign against the north has been decided upon, and the date for carrying it through is not very far off." Documents of the Syngman Rhee government, captured during the subsequent occupation of Seoul by the Korean Peoples Army and published by the north Korean government, confirmed the systematic preparation of the invasion of north Korea from the south.
On the 14th March 1950 a correspondent of the New York Times named Sullivan reported from Seoul that 13 deputies of the National Assembly of douth Korea had been sentenced to imprisonment for periods ranging from one and a half to ten years for violations of the Security Act. Each was found guilty on five charges, of which the fourth was "opposing the invasion of North Korea by the South Korean forces."
In the south Korean elections of the 30th May 1950 Syngman Rhee suffered a crushing defeat and his support in the New National Assembly was reduced to less than a quarter of the seats. The overthrow of his hated regime seemed certain and its impending collapse was openly predicted. The general opinion was that only a victorious war could raise his prestige enough to save him.
Early in June 1950 Secretary of State Acheson's adviser, John Foster Dulles, who was a member of the board of directors of the National City Bank that had marketed the shares of the New Corea Company, appeared in south Korea. His photograph, taken on the border between south Korea and north Korea in the company of high American and south Korean officers by Associated Press on the 19th June, was flashed round the world. On that
same day, in an address to the South Korean National Assembly, Dulles prophesied that "the Communists will lose their rule over North Korea."
On the 20th June the Swiss paper, Zuricher Zeitung, said: "There is no lack of people in South Korea who see the solution of the problems weighing heavily upon the country in a military attack on the north. The Americans have outfitted 150,000 men with American
weapons, have put them under the command of American instructors, and have long been preparing for war."
While Dulles was in south Korea, the US Secretary for Defence, Lyndon B Johnson, and the Chief of the General Staff, Omar Nelson Bradley, were in conference in Tokyo at the headquarters of General MacArthur. On the 21st June, Dulles arrived in Tokyo from South Korea and after long talks with MacArthur told the press that he "prophesied positive action by the USA."
On the 25th June 1950, the day of the invasion of north Korea, John Gunther, the American writer, found himself in MacArthur's private railway car on a pleasure trip in the vicinity of Tokyo. MacArthur's chief political adviser was to have accompanied him but he had to cancel his plans as MacArthur needed him. He was replaced by two other high
officers who accompanied Gunther. According to Gunther, one of them was "unexpectedly called to the telephone just before dinner." When he returned, he told Gunther: "A tremendous story is just coming out. The south Koreans have attacked North Korea."
This was confirmed by General MacArthur himself on the 30th July,When he told press correspondents assembled at his headquarters in Tokyo: "When the war began on the 25th June, the North Korean army had not carried out its mobilisation plan. Only six divisions were ready, although the North Korean plans call for 13 to 15 divisions in case of
war." It had been reported by field observers of the United Nations on the 24th June, a few hours before hostilities had begun, that "no reports have been received of any unusual activity by North Korean forces that would indicate any impending change in the general situation along the frontier." But officers of the South Korean forces captured after the outbreak of war insisted that on that particular day, their regular Saturday leave had been cancelled and that on the following day they had been ordered to begin "the full phase of the attack north of the 38th parallel."
Kim I Sek and some other south Korean leaders were captured at the very beginning of the war. They gave valuable information. A number of documents were also captured which showed quite clearly that the south Koreans, backed by the Americans, were the aggressors. According to Kim I Sek, the final instructions given to Syngman Rhee by Dulles went as
follows: "Start the aggression against the north, accompanied by a counter-propaganda on the grounds that the North has invaded the South first. If you can but hold out for two weeks, everything will go smoothly, for during this period the United States, by accusing North
Korea of attacking South Korea, will compel the United Nations to take action, in whose name land, naval and air forces would be mobilised."
The invasion started in the early hours of the 25th June. According to a captured front-line officer, Lieutenant Han Su Whan, formerly of the 17th Regiment of the south Korean army: "Though the 24th was a Saturday, officers of the regiment were not allowed to go out; they were ordered to be on the alert. We all stayed up that night in tense mood, and by daybreak of the 25th a secret order reached us from Headquarters to launch an attack on the region north of the 38th parallel line. All the units which had launched the sudden attack from the Ongjin area broke through the 38th parallel line, and their advance covered from on to two kilometres ... Soon after we launched our attack, we were confronted by a fierce counter-offensive of the Constabularies of the People's Republic ... We, who had been so proud of being equipped with American arms of ultra-modern type, collapsed immediately everywhere before the Constabularies of the People's Republic; even the 53 rocket guns we had were of no use.
In his book New Light on Korea D.N. Pritt wrote: "Within eight hours of the first news of the hostilities reaching Washington, the Security Council was summoned ... Its members were called from their sleep at 3 a.m and twelve hours later, in the absence of the Soviet representative, and of any representative of China (the nominee of the defeated bandit Chiang Kaishek still sitting in China's seat), they had passed what appeared to be a resolution of the Security Council."
According to the Charter of the United Nations, all five permanent members of the Security Council had to concur before any resolution could be said to be valid. The representative of the USSR, objecting in principle to China's being represented by the nominee of a government that had ceased to exist, did not attend. The resolution was, therefore, totally void. It nevertheless condemned "the invasion of the Republic of Korea by armed forces from North Korea" and recommended its members to give military aid to South Korea.
In reaching its decision the Security Council neither asked the DPR Korea to give its version of the outbreak of hostilities nor took into consideration its claim that the aouth Koreans were the aggressors. On the 2nd July, the Observer boasted: "The Security Council, overnight, was transformed into the executive authority of non-Communist world opinion," adding that it had "suddenly begun to work as it was intended to work." On the same day, the West Berlin Telegraf told its readers that South Korea, which it described as "the last corner of democratic freedom on the Chinese mainland," had been subjected to "the cowardly attack of Communism."
In a statement made on behalf of the Soviet government on the 4th July, Gromyko accused the Security Council of "acting not as a body invested with the main responsibility for the maintenance of peace, but as an instrument employed by the US ruling circles with the object of unleashing war." Unlike the USA, whose President was already threatening to occupy Formosa and the nominally independent Philippines, as well as sending a military mission to Indo-China and calling for a crusade against every socialist country in the world, the USSR remained calm.
Within three days of the outbreak of war, the People's Army of the DPR Korea had driven back the south Korean invaders and liberated Seoul. But the Americans had anticipated this possibility and had already landed three infantry divisions, one armoured division and one marine division in south Korea. This was, of course, in violation of all international agreements. On the 26th and 27th June, the US forces bombarded north Korean cities and villages, shot up harbours and landed transports under the protection of the Pacific Fleet and the Seventh Fleet, which pushed into north Korean territorial waters. On the 5th July, West German radio announced that the Americans had "rounded up the South Korean troops, who were retreating in panic, and brought them back into position." It was to be three years before the USA, with official losses of 25,000 dead and 100,000 wounded, were forced to agree to an armistice.
The people of the USA and of Korea paid for the war with their lives but the industrial-military complex of the USA reaped its profits in dollars. The industrialists of West Germany also raked in the dollars. In 1950 West Germany increased its exports to the USA from 46.5 million dollars to 102.4 million dollars; and in 1955 its exports to the USA reached 356.3 million dollars. This was the basis of the post-war recovery of the Federal Republic of Germany, then being described as an economic miracle.
The Chancellor of West Germany, Konrad Adenauer, used the Korean conflict to create a German army in secret, without the knowledge even of his own government, but in conspiracy with the rulers of the USA. Like Hitler before him, he later justified this by repeatedly declaring that the purpose of the new German army was for the waging of a war against the east.
a revised extract from Churchill and the Bomb
Wednesday, 30 June 2021
Honouring Kim Jong Il
Korean solidarity activists met online last Saturday to mark the 57th anniversary of the start of work of dear leader Kim Jong Il at the Central Committee of the Workers Party of Korea (WPK) in 1964, and also the 20th anniversary of the Korean Friendship Association (KFA) UK.
KFA members from all over Britain took part in the meeting, including the organisers of branches in Staffordshire, Scotland and the West of England. Observers from the Cambodian and Canadian KFAs also joined in the online conference.
Congratulatory messages were received from KFA President Alejandro Cao De Benos, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Embassy in London, the DPRK Committee for Cultural Relations, the DPRK Committee for Friendship with Britain, the Pyongyang Mission of the Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front of south Korea, and KFA Singapore.
The message from the Korean Committee for Friendship with Britain said: “This year is a very significant year which marks 20 years of history of KFA UK. For the past two decades, KFA UK has always been in the frontline of friendship and solidarity activities with DPRK and made great achievements. No words could match your efforts, we would just like to emphasise that we are grateful and appreciate your contributions highly.”
KFA President Alejandro Cao De Benos stressed that: “KFA-UK is one of our most active branches in the world, from conferences to interviews, from pickets to the publication of People’s Korea Today, your pace and spirit is inspirational and unmatchable. Being a model, many newcomers will be assisted by KFA-UK for training and advice.”
The DPRK London embassy said: “Our embassy highly appreciates that KFA of Britain has been struggling to strengthen the association and defend the rights and interest of working people since its foundation 20 years ago.”
Dermot Hudson, the KFA-UK Chair, spoke about the 20th anniversary of the foundation of KFA-UK, stressing its role in taking “the struggle to defend People’s Korea to the streets and picketing the US embassy, south Korean puppet embassy, the BBC, Channel Four and the Ministry of Defence”, adding: “Of course it has never been easy, far from it. The establishment and the elite do not want to see the pro-active and energetic defence of the DPRK.”
Speaking about the 57th anniversary of the start of work of the great leader comrade Kim Jong Il at the Central Committee of the WPK, Hudson said that Kim Jong Il’s starting work at the WPK Central Committee was an event of immense importance. His leadership enabled the WPK to hold up the Juche idea authored by President Kim Il Sung, the great leader of the Korean people and the founder of the WPK, as its immutable guiding ideology and guiding ideal, the Juche idea.
It was reported that KFA-UK has grown on Facebook despite obstructions from Facebook that saw the main site and others banned for certain periods. Despite the COVID‑19 pandemic KFA-UK has been very active, holding many online events.
A new KFA-UK Constitution was endorsed without dissension. The meeting included a short presentation by Dermot Hudson on the subject of the Korean war – the imperialist invasion, led by the USA, which was started by the south Korean puppets on the orders of their American masters.
After an online toast to the 20th anniversary of KFA-UK was drunk, a message to DPRK Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un was adopted.
Saturday, 19 June 2021
Solidarity with the DPRK!
International Webinar Discusses Present Situation and Developments in DPRK
Celebration in Pyongyang of the successful conclusion of the 8th
Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea in January 2021.
Thirty-eight international Korean solidarity activists took part in a
Friends of Korea video conference on 21stMay. The webinar heard
contributions from the NCP, RCPB ML, the Korean Friendship Association and members
of the Canadian Korean solidarity campaign as well as the national chair of the
Socialist Labour Party on the present situation in the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea in the light of the national and international contexts. This report was produced by Philip Fernandez of the Canadian chapter of the Korea Truth Commission
On May 21, the Friends of Korea (Britain) hosted a lively and informative webinar on the current situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Korean Peninsula. Participants from Britain and Canada took part in the discussion which provided a chance to learn about and exchange views on the topic.
Andy Brooks, General Secretary of the New Communist Party of Britain and Chair of Friends of Korea (Britain), welcomed everyone and thanked them for joining in, especially those from Canada. He introduced Michael Chant, General Secretary of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) and Secretary of Friends of Korea (Britain), who chaired the program. Chant set out the plan for the proceedings and introduced Lesley Larkum -- a composer, violinist and teacher -- who played the Korean folk song Arirang, the anthem of the Korean reunification movement, which everyone appreciated.
In the first presentation, Michael Chant provided a historical overview of the DPRK's struggle for its right to be during the last more than 70 years in the face of U.S. aggression, war and brutal sanctions. He highlighted the principled stand of the DPRK to uphold its sovereignty and dignity under all conditions and discussed recent developments in that country brought into focus by the decisions taken at the 8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea held in Pyongyang this past January. The main thrust of the 8th Congress, he noted, was that it reiterated the DPRK's determination to uphold its self-reliant Juche outlook, strengthen its independent economy to counter the brutal sanctions regime of the Anglo-Americans, and defend itself against threats and aggression from the U.S. and others. Britain is participating in the illegal sanctions the European Union has imposed against the DPRK, Chant pointed out, despite having withdrawn from the EU. He noted that in the current period, the DPRK will be developing and strengthening its international relations in support of the cause of peace and justice everywhere, extending a hand of friendship to all who reciprocate. Chant underscored that in terms of its relations with the U.S., the DPRK has no illusions and will engage in relations on the basis of "goodwill for goodwill and power for power."
The next speaker was Dermot Hudson, the Chair of the Korean Friendship Association in the UK. He informed participants of the Association's work to build people-to-people relations between the two countries to support the just stands of the DPRK in defence of peace on the Korean Peninsula and to oppose disinformation about the DPRK carried out by the monopoly media. One of the things Hudson noted, in light of the atrocities that Israel is committing against the Palestinians, is that the DPRK has always stood with the Palestinian people, rendering material and political support over many decades. He reminded participants that the meeting was being held on the 41st anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising when students and workers in that city rose up and held power for several days in May 1980 to defy the U.S.-backed Chun Doo Hwan military dictatorship in south Korea, and affirmed their right to democracy and empowerment. Hudson observed that May 21 too was the first day of the Moon-Biden meeting in Washington, DC and expressed doubt that anything good for the Korean people would come of it.
The last presenter was Philip Fernandez, spokesperson of the Korea Truth Commission (Canadian Chapter). He spoke of how the framework of the Biden administration's new DPRK policy, based on a pragmatic approach of "diplomacy and stern deterrence," is doomed to fail because the DPRK conducts its foreign relations on the basis of principle and upholding its right to be. Contrary to the disinformation carried by the imperialist system of states that the DPRK is a violator of human rights, Fernandez pointed out that it is the crippling sanctions imposed by the U.S, Canada, Britain and others that constitute gross human rights violations and collective punishment against the people of the DPRK, which is doing its utmost to defend the rights of its people against this aggression.
Fernandez mentioned, among other things, that whenever the Korean people have made headway in building inter-Korean relations and strengthening the movement for reunification, the U.S. imperialists have intervened to sabotage these efforts. In the context of next year's elections in south Korea, Fernandez noted that the U.S. is working behind the scenes to install the anti-communist People's Power Party in office. This is to undermine relations between north and south and push back the 2018 historic Panmunjom Declaration that raised the hopes of the whole Korean nation for the strengthening of inter-Korean relations. One of the sitting politicians of the People's Power Party in the legislature, Tae Yong-Ho, who defected from the DPRK Embassy in London in 2016, has now joined the anti-DPRK campaign to slander and isolate his birthplace, Fernandez noted. He pointed out that in a recent interview, Tae Yong-Ho called the DPRK a "slave state" while praising Britain as a land of "freedom, democracy and human rights."
The decisive factor in the future of Korea are the Korean people themselves, not anyone or any other power, and their drive for peace and reunification will eventually succeed, Fernandez underscored in concluding his presentation.
Following the presentations, Michael Chant informed participants that the DPRK's embassy in London had sent a message of greeting to the meeting and wished it success.
The discussion which ensued emphasized the importance of speaking out in defence of the DPRK and its right to be in the context of the continued attacks on it by the U.S. imperialists and their allies. There was strong sentiment to continue the fruitful discussion of this meeting.
The event concluded with a short video of a visit to a music school in Pyongyang in 2013 during the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Victory of the Fatherland Liberation War, followed by a clip of the playing of The Internationale at the close of the Workers' Party of Korea's 8th Congress.
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