Thursday 3 May 2018

Nukes, Juche , Songun,Peace and Reunification -special article by Dr Dermot Hudson

                                                       

Events have taken place one after the other on the Korean peninsula that have stunned the world and provoked much attention from the world media and evoking much comment . 
  Firstly , on the 21st of April , dear respected Marshal KIM JONG UN presided over the 3rd Plenary Meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the ruling party of People's Korea ,which declared the victory of the dual line of building the economy and nuclear force in parallel and also decided to stop nuclear testing in the DPRK as there is no need for it. Secondly, on the 27th of April , the dear respected leader  travelled to Panmunjom and met the south Korean chief executive Moon Jae In  for the 3rd Inter-Korean summit . The summit adopted  a joint statement which called basically for establishing a peace mechanism or regime on the Korean peninsula   and for reunification on the basis of independence .Significantly the inter-Korean summit expressed the wish to work towards a denuclearised Korean peninsula. 
                                            

   However there has much misinterpretation and spin about the Inter-Korean Summit by the Western media , in fact distortion and often downright lies .Even some friends of People's Korea have misunderstood recent developments and have become unsettled by them,probably because they have been misled and misinformed by the toxic coverage of the bourgeois media of the inter-Korean summit and the 21st of April meeting of the Central Committee of the WPK. Also the US imperialists have claimed that their sanctions have caused a "change in policy " in the DPRK. Others claim that a certain neighbouring country to the DPRK, a big power caused the DPRK to decide to "give up nuclear weapons " etc. What is the truth ?
 Firstly, the bourgeois and imperialist media make extremely ignorant and ill-judged comments on developments because they do not bother to read and study the policy documents of the Workers' Party of Korea and DPRK government, they just write the first thing that comes into their heads. In fact the DPRK has always been committed to denuclearisation  respected Marshal KIM JONG UN stated at the 7th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea,held  in May 2016 , that
 " We should defend peace and security in the region and the rest of the world by giving full play to the might of Songun.
To build a peaceful world free from war is the fighting goal of our Party, and to struggle for regional and global peace and security is the consistent stand of our Party and the government of our Republic. Peace is an intrinsic requirement of socialism, and it is the desire of our people, who are exposed to the constant danger of nuclear war....
we will faithfully observe our commitments to nuclear non-proliferation, which we have made before the international community, and strive for global denuclearization"
 When the DPRK conducted its first nuclear test ,it declared its will to work for denuclearisation ,pledging to never use nuclear weapons first and not to transfer nuclear weapons abroad .
     Dear respected Marshal KIM JONG UN actually proposed to suspend nuclear tests in return for the US and south Korea suspending military exercises back in 2014, the so-called 'freeze for freeze ' The Western media did not widely report the proposal and needless to say this proposal was completely rejected by the US and south Korea. The DPRK did not carry out any nuclear tests in 2014 and 2015 but received no credit or praise for this. Basically , proposals for denuclearisation and for a freeze on nuclear testing actually pre-date the March 2018 visit of respected Marshal KIM JONG UN to China and the inter-Korean summit of April 2018 
  The denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula that was agreed at the inter-Korean  does not mean the unilateral , unfair and one-sided nuclear disarmament of the DPRK as touted by the imperialists and the reactionaries . What it means is the complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula including the removal of US nuclear weapons in south Korea(note the US in 1957 unilaterally and in violation of the Korean Armistice agreement started introducing nuclear weapons into south Korea , roughly a 1,000 US nuclear warheads were deployed in south Korea , at one point 1,700 nuclear weapons were deployed in south Korea , after 1992 the US "neither confirmed nor denied " that US nuclear weapons had been withdrawn from south Korea) , the US not deploying "strategic assets" (i.e nuclear weapons ) in or around the Korean peninsula and an end to any US nuclear umbrella for south Korea.  
  The Inter-Korean summit was in no way a sudden departure from the DPRK and WPK 's line on national reunification , in fact the DPRK has consistently struggled for national reunification throughout its existence . In June 1950 just a few weeks  before the Fatherland Liberation War (Korean War ) the DPRK made proposals for reunification and send emissaries to south Korea to put these proposals to south Korea but they were arrested and jailed.
   The great leader President KIM IL SUNG first mooted the idea of a Confederation between the nort and south of Korea in 1961 , it was later expounded in detail at the 6th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea in 1980.
    The DPRK's stance on reunification does not mean giving up the struggle or capitalism being restored in the DPRK . It does not actually mean merging the socialist system with the capitalist system  Back in 1968 President KIM IL SUNG said that the DPRK's line on peaceful reunification  " has nothing in common with any compromise with the nation's enemy or with the so-called theory of " peaceful transition" of one social system to another .The question of reunifying our country represents the vital demand of our nation for an end to the catastrophic partition of the country ,for the restoration of the territory and population extorted by foreign aggressors and for the country's complete independence "
 I think the above quotation puts things in a very clear perspective. After the end of the cold war , the theory of so-called "unification through absorption" was put forward  , south Korea and some others talked about "German style reunfication " (which referred to the annexation and absorption of the former , socialist, German Democratic Republic by capitalist and imperialist West Germany). The DPRK firnly rejected the "German style " unification " or unification through the merger of systems.
  There was no change in the DPRK's policy on reunification or on dialogue with south Korea. The change occured in south Korea , where the old fascist , conservative , puppet regime of Park Geun Hye (daughter of the 1960s and 1970s  military fascist dictator Park Chung Hee ) was toppled by the millions strong "Candlelight Protests ". Park was excessively corrupt and was enveloped by deep corruption scandals. At the same time  she was a fascistic leader and committed to both being a total
100 and 1000 per cent puppet of US imperialism and to extreme confrontation with People's Korea, including war . Park was replaced by Moon Jae In , a liberal and pragmatic figure, who wanted dialogue with the DPRK rather than confrontation. Of course Moon is not in a strong position because is under pressure from three sides , firstly he has to look over his shoulder at the US which occupies south Korea ,secondly ,then he has to deal with the nuclear-armed DPRK  , and , thirdly , he needs to keep in tune with the wishes of the Candlelight Marchers who overthrew Park and brought him to power.


 The 3rd Inter-Korean  summit was  only possible because of firstly , the Juche-based independent viewpoint and patriotic stand of dear respected Marshal KIM JONG UN , secondly , the excellent and astute leadership of respected Marshal KIM JONG UN who can break through all challenges and obastcles , thirdly , the Songun (Army first) policy . In fact the DPRK came to the 3rd Inter-Korean summit from a position of strength ,the DPRK is far stronger in all fields  than in 2000 and 2007 when the first and second Inter-Korean summit .Moreover the DPRK is now a full fledged nuclear and ICBM power which it was not in 2000 and in 2007 it had only carried out is first nuclear test .
                                

 Meanwhile the imperialist mainstream media has also spread all kinds of spin and distortion about the decisions made the 3rd Plenary Meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea  and the question of denuclearisation . Contrary to the imperialist media , the meeting did not 
agree to unilaterally disarm the DPRK's nuclear weapons . In fact  respected Marshal KIM JONG UN declared that  "powerful treasured sword for defending peace was successfully concluded and the firm guarantee by which our descendents can enjoy the most dignified and happiest life in the world was provided".
  It is of course true that at the meeting it was decided that the DPRK would discontinue nuclear tests and tests . Why ? , not because another country said so or to please anyone but because such tests would be no longer nessecary as the DPRK had won victory in the struggle to implement the dual line of building the economy and nuclear force in parallel.
       During the period from March 2013 and April 2018 , the DPRK carried out three nuclear tests including two for the H bomb as well as tests of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles .In the same period the DPRK carried out  more 20 tests of missiles and rockets including Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles , Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles  and Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles. Basically Juche Korea raced across the nuclear  finishing line and become a proud member of the nuclear club which consists of a small number of countries such as the US, UK ,France , Russia , China , Israel , India and Pakistan . Similarly the ICBM club  is an elite exclusive club of just  6 or 7 countries . My own country Britain which once styled itself as having an empire "on which the sun never set " , does not have it own ICBMs . The DPRK has both its own ICBMs and Nukes , more importantly it has total control over them, it does not have to ask the permission of another country to fire its ICBMs nor does any other country have a second key to operate the DPRK's nuclear weapons !
  At the  5th Conference of Cell Chairpersons of the WPK held on the 21s of December 2017  respected Marshal KIM JONG UN declared that "we successfully realized the historic cause of completing the state nuclear force by thoroughly implementing the revolutionary line of independence in politics, self-support in the economy and self-reliance in defense, despite short supply in everything and manifold difficulties and ordeals owing to the despicable anti-DPRK moves of the enemies"
   Moreover in his New Year Address for 2018 respected Marshal KIM JONG UN stated "An outstanding success our Party, state and people won last year was the accomplishment of the great, historic cause of perfecting the national nuclear forces"
 So there is no need for any more nuclear tests . The DPRK has entered a new stage and higher stage of development . Of course the DPRK is not unilaterally  disarming or following the Libyan model.
In fac the DPRK state budget for 2018 adopted at the Supreme's People's Assemby  stated that "15.9 percent of the total expenditure will go to increasing the military capabilities for self-defence".This is actually a slight increase on last year .
 The DPRK is not pursuing one-sided , unilateral disarmament but is ready for both dialogue and for war . What it seeks is an end to the US nuclear threat to itself and an end to the hostile policy of US imperialism . Moreover, the DPRK is committed to Juche-based , independent reunification .

Dr Dermot Hudson President Association for the Study of Songun Politics UK Chairman Juche Idea Study Group of England Official Delegate Korean Friendship Association for UK Chairman , British Solidarity Committee For Peace and Reunification on the Korean Peninsula
member International Central Committee For Songun Study  

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