UK KFA statement denouncing aggressive and provocative Hoguk exercise

UK KOREAN FRIENDSHIP ASSOCIATION
London 25th of October
The UK Korean Friendship Association today issued a statement denouncing the holding of the Hoguk exercise by the south Korean military authorities and the US imperialist forces present in south Korea. These are planned to start on the 27th of October and finish on the 4th of November. These exercises are large in scale involving involve 140,000 south Korean puppet troops as well 500 US marines and sailors.
What is of great concern to the Korean Friendship Association and the peace-loving people of the world is that these exercises will take place in the West Sea of Korea , in particular Paekryong Island . This is an area of great tension where many clashes have taken place due to the illegal and unilateral "northern limit line" imposed without consultation by the US imperialists. It was here last year during the Hoguk 2010 exercise that the south Korean puppets provoked the Yongphyong Island incident by live firing into the DPRK's territorial waters causing the DPRK to retaliate in order to defend its independence, dignity and sovereignty.
We ask do the south Korean rightist conservatives plan to provoke a second Yongyphyong Incident ? The situation on the Korean peninsula is delicately balanced.
Any provocations could spark a military clash with unfortunate consequences. The demand of the times is for the relaxation of tension, peace and reunification but the Hoguk exercises of the south Korean authorities and US imperialists go totally against this. The previous regime in south Korea had agreed under the auspices of the October 4th declaration to make the West Sea of Korea , a zone of peace and co-operation but instead the Lee Myung Bak ultra rightists have turned the West Sea into a zone of confrontation by holding exercises such as Hoguk.

We, the UK Korean Friendship Association, demand that Hoguk is cancelled at once and that the south Korean fascist puppets and US imperialists halt their provocations against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

UK KFA