Some reflections on UK-DPRK Relations -by Dr Dermot Hudson

 

About over a week ago , on the 12th  of December , it was the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom . UK KFA and our Staffordshire branch marked the occasion with statements and we made a few remarks  about the anniversary at our online meeting on the 12th of December.

There can be no doubt that the establishment of diplomatic relations between the DPRK and UK was a truly momentous event  because it basically reversed previous British policy on the DPRK . Britain had under the orders of the US sent troops to fight against the DPRK in the Korean War(Fatherland Liberation War ) in an effort to prevent the reunification of Korea and strangle the independence of the DPRK . Britain even maintained a token military presence in south Korea long after the end of the Korean war . Britain also gave generous aid to the south Korean puppet fascist regime . Back in 1983 the now forgotten and unlamented Tory Foreign Secretary Sir Geoffrey Howe visited south Korea and said 'we will never recognise north Korea ' . 17 years later thanks to the Songun policy and independent diplomacy of the DPRK , Howe's words crumbled to dust and Britain did recognise the DPRK .

 However some establishment figures have said that relations between the UK and DPRK have deteriorated . This not because of any fault of the DPRK but because of the two -faced and hostile policy pursued by the UK which has included not only supporting UN sanctions against the DPRK but also imposing their own 'independent sanctions ' on the DPRK . The British media have been increasingly hostile to the DPRK even though there are hardly any articles in the DPRK external media criticising Britain . Britain also allowed so-called 'defectors ' from the DPRK to settle in Britain and gave them generous state handouts at a time when there are many homeless and jobless  people in Britain  . Worse still an individual accused of very serious crimes  by the DPRK was allowed to go to the south Korea .

The big problem with UK-DPRK relations is that whilst Britain recognised the DPRK and opened an embassy in Pyongyang  , it has not really changed the content of its decades old hostile policy towards the DPRK . The form had changed but the content had not . Indeed a hidden agenda of the British ruling class is to effect the so-called 'peaceful transition ' or 'peace conversion ' strategy on the DPRK  .This entails instead of a physical(military ) confrontation with the DPRK , seeking to induce change from within the DPRK , basically to try and persuade the DPRK to give up Juche and dismantle the socialist system (such a thing would be truly disastrous and would bring untold misery to the Korean people)  . This tactic was used by the US , UK and other Western countries against the former USSR and other socialist countries .

    The anti-DPRK human rights campaign which is strongly supported by Britain is another part of the 'regime change ' strategy . Again this tactic has historical precedents ; the Western imperialists created the 'Helsinki  process ' in the later 70s to disintegrate the East European socialist countries , 

Good relations between Britain and the DPRK can be built when the British establishment finally give up all fantasies of 'regime change ' or 'changing the regime '  and respect the independence of the DPRK and its socialist system .

Dr Dermot Hudson 

Chairman UK KFA 

Chairman British Group for the Study of the Juche Idea 

President Association for the Study of Songun Politics UK

Chairman British Solidarity Committee for Peace and Reunification on the Korean Peninsula.