19th Anniversary of Historic June 15, 2000
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June 15, 2019 marks the 19th anniversary of the historic North-South Joint Declaration signed by the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Kim Jong Il, and President Kim Dae Jung of the Republic of Korea (ROK). This historic declaration inspired the entire Korean nation and all peace-loving humanity. The Joint Declaration created the conditions for the Korean people, north and south, to strengthen ties and become comfortable working together to solve problems, move forward their nation-building project of national reunification, put an end to the unjust and ongoing division of their country and move forward together as one united and independent country towards a bright, prosperous future.
Subsequently, during the leadership of the progressive presidents Kim Dae Jung and Roh Moo-hyun, from 2000 to 2008, headway was made in strengthening inter-Korean relations, including the establishment of the Kaesong Industrial Complex just north of the Demilitarized Zone in 2002. This highly successful project undertaken by the DPRK and ROK for mutual benefit saw 123 south Korean companies, employing 53,000 DPRK workers and 800 from the ROK, produce a wide variety of textiles, ceramics and other products for the domestic and export markets.
The June 15, 2000 Joint Declaration was followed by the October 4, 2007 Agreement between the ROK and DPRK, which further developed and strengthened the progress made as a result of the June 15, 2000 Joint Declaration. The U.S., fearful of a united independent Korea, which would be an economic powerhouse and a factor for peace in the world, then worked to roll back these positive developments by endorsing two anti-communists, one after the other, as ROK president. Lee Myung Bak, a former mayor of Seoul, and Park Gyeun-hye, between them, from 2008 till 2016, began to sabotage the work done by the previous administrations to foster and normalize ties that had been built, including the latter's unilateral decision to end the joint project at Kaesong in 2016.
After Park Gyeun-hye was impeached for corrupt dealings, voters in the May 2017 ROK presidential election voted into office Moon Jae-in, who had pledged during the election campaign to re-vitalize north-south relations. In his first term, President Moon made it a matter of priority to re-establish north-south ties and was receptive to the proposals made by Kim Jong Un and the DPRK which ultimately led to the historic Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula, signed between the two leaders on April 27, 2018. This historic agreement re-affirmed all previous agreements and went further, by declaring, among other important measures, that the two sides would refrain from engaging in military provocations. This declaration was justly celebrated by the Korean people and peace-loving humanity as a big step forward for inter-Korean relations and for peace on the Korean Peninsula and around the world.
What has continued to be a block to the aspirations of the Korean people and their nation-building project are the machinations and perfidy of the U.S. imperialists, who were responsible for the division of Korea in the first place in 1945 and who continue to keep Korea divided today. The military, economic and political domination and militarization of the ROK by the U.S. imperialists and their attempts to strangle the DPRK into submission through a slew of unjust and brutal UN Security Council sanctions are all aimed at realizing the geo-political interests of U.S. imperialism in East Asia and the Indo-Pacific region as part of its drive for world domination. In the process, the U.S. has weaponized the ROK in order to maintain a foothold for its armed forces on the mainland of north-east Asia and to serve as a forward staging ground to threaten China and Russia.
The Canadian government too is playing a dirty role in
the region by participating in provocations and aggression against the
DPRK, as it is doing in Venezuela. Last week, the Trudeau government
announced through the Department of National Defence that the Canadian
military will continue to be engaged for two more years in monitoring
shipping to and from the DPRK to enforce the unjust UN sanctions -- an
operation begun a little over a year ago.
The military domination of the U.S. in south Korea is such that the ROK is forced to pay some U.S.$1 billion annually towards the cost of maintaining 28,000 U.S. troops in its territory and to maintain the U.S. military bases and installations. The ROK is also one of the biggest purchasers of U.S. weapons. Despite Point 2 of the terms of the Panmunjom Declaration that the ROK and DPRK will "make joint efforts to alleviate the acute military tension and practically eliminate the danger of war on the Korean Peninsula," this has been difficult to do because of the presence of the U.S. military in the ROK and the 1953 ROK-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty that the U.S. imposed on the ROK in 1953 following the Korean War. The ROK is forced by the terms of the Treaty to take part in the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle military exercises which are thinly veiled attempts to threaten the DPRK and its supporters China and Russia. In addition, the U.S. has so far refused to implement the commitments it made as a result of the DPRK-U.S. Summit Agreement signed on June 12 of last year in Singapore, the second of four points of which notes: "The United States and the DPRK will join their efforts to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula."
In the meantime, the Korean people are continuing to organize and take stands in defence of peace and sovereignty. Actions take place every day to oppose the U.S. military presence and to demand that the Moon government continue to build peaceful relations with the DPRK. Activists hold actions at the U.S. embassy in Seoul each week calling for the removal of U.S. troops and their weapons from Korean soil. Peace activists are also holding actions in Busan, on Jeju Island and other places. And this is the decisive thing. It is the Korean people, showing through their deeds, that they are the ones who will decide Korea's future. It is their defiance of U.S. threats and dictate that give expression to the three principles guiding the Korean reunification movement: reunification will be achieved independently without outside interference, through the political unity of the Korean people despite their ideological differences, and peacefully.
On this occasion, let us pledge as fraternal peace-loving Canadian people to step up our support for the courageous and determined struggle of the Korean people to achieve peace, reunification and progress for Korea.
This article was published in
Volume 49 Number
22 - June 15, 2019
Article Link:
19th
Anniversary of Historic June 15, 2000 North-South Joint Declaration
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca