Update on the Situation on the Korean
Peninsula
Toronto Meeting on Current Developments in the Struggle for Peace and Reunification
A vibrant and informative public forum was held in
Toronto
on June 15 to mark the 19th anniversary of the signing of the
June 15, 2000 North-South Joint Declaration between the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea
(ROK), a historic occasion that revitalized the Korean people's
movement for national reunification. The forum, organized by the
Korean Truth Commission (Canadian Chapter) and the Korean
Federation in Canada, featured Professor Kiyul Chung, Director of
the 21st Century Institute in Washington DC, Distinguished
Visiting Professor at Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang and a
lifelong anti-imperialist, peace activist and champion of the
rights of the Korean people.
 Philip Fernandez, spokesperson for
the Korea Truth Commission
(Canadian Chapter), welcomed everyone and gave a short
presentation summing up the recent experience of the Korean
people in advancing their national struggle for an independent
and peaceful reunification of Korea. He pointed out that, most
importantly, the future of the Korean nation is in the hands of
the Korean people themselves. He noted that Koreans in both north
and south are taking stands to oppose the continuing U.S.
military occupation and threats of further aggression on the
Korean Peninsula and are strengthening relations among
themselves.
Fernandez then introduced the keynote speaker for the
event,
Prof. Kiyul Chung, and noted that the Canadian people's relations
with Prof. Chung stretch back almost two decades to the historic
Korea Truth Commission's International War Crimes Tribunal held
in New York on June 23-24, 2001. with this tribunal, he recalled, for
the first time
a people's tribunal was organized to bring to light the crimes
committed by the U.S. armed forces against the Korean people
since the U.S. occupation of Korea in 1945 and put on trial
successive U.S. government leaders and military commanders for
these crimes. Based on the evidence provided, an international
panel of jurists found all those indicted guilty of war crimes,
crimes against humanity, crimes against peace and genocide
against the Korean people, and demanded justice, an apology and
compensation for the victims of these atrocities, as well as an
immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops from the Korean Peninsula. A
delegation of 60 Canadians participated in that
historic event, which was co-chaired by Prof. Chung.
In his thorough presentation to the forum and the
discussion that
followed,
Prof. Chung touched on a number of important themes. These included
current relations between the U.S. and the DPRK, relations
between the DPRK and the ROK, the shifting geopolitical landscape
globally with the rise of China and Russia, and the crisis within
the U.S. state where President Trump himself is engaged in
battling rival forces within the U.S. administration.
Prof. Chung began by emphasizing that the DPRK has built
a
nuclear deterrent to defend its sovereignty in the face of more
than 60 years of threats of renewed aggression by the U.S.,
including nuclear attack. Prof. Chung noted that U.S. government
policy makers now recognize that the U.S. is no longer able to
act as before with the DPRK and that the U.S. had better prepare
an "exit strategy."
Prof. Chung also noted that the DPRK has signalled that
it is
no longer interested in speaking with the U.S. state if the
latter continues to make outrageous and arrogant demands that the
DPRK give up its nuclear defence capacity as a condition of
talks. Prof. Chung emphasized that the DPRK's principled defence
of its independence and sovereignty, in the face of the most
difficult challenges -- such as when the Soviet Union
and the Eastern Bloc countries collapsed in 1991, and the DPRK
went through the period of the "Arduous March" -- has imbued the
people of the DPRK with confidence in their leadership and the
conviction that they will prevail against the most severe
pressure from the Anglo-American imperialists if they remain
steadfast in their principles and Juche outlook.
In speaking to the issue of DPRK-ROK relations, Prof.
Chung
elaborated how even though the Korean people's "Candlelight
Revolution" brought President Moon Jae-in to power, he is blocked
in efforts to enhance ROK-DPRK relations because the pro-U.S.
anti-communist forces are still in control of the main structures
of the state including the military, which is an expression of
the U.S. domination and control of the country since the Second
World War. These forces continue to be supported by the U.S. as
their proxies in keeping the Korean people divided and the Korean
Peninsula in a state of crisis. For example, despite the terms of
the Panmunjom Declaration signed between Chairman Kim and
President Moon on April 27, 2018, which calls for both sides to
refrain from military provocations against each other, among
other pledges, U.S.-ROK joint military exercises continue to be
held in violation of the Panmunjom Declaration.
Another of the main themes of the presentation was the
rise of
China and a revitalized Russia in global geopolitical affairs.
Prof. Chung noted that recently both President Xi of China and
President Putin of Russia have drawn closer to the DPRK and are
lending support in various ways. Both China and Russia emphasize
that the only solution to the Korea question is through diplomacy
and not through war. Besides sending foodstuffs and other
necessities to the DPRK, Russia under Putin has forgiven the $10
billion loan incurred by the DPRK before the
collapse of the Soviet Union. As the power and prestige of both
Russia and China increase, they will continue to neutralize the
U.S. and its attempt to dominate the East Asia region, Prof.
Chung stated.
Prof. Chung also spoke on the matter of the brutal UN
Security
Council sanctions against the DPRK. These illegal sanction have
caused great hardship for the people, he said, and must be ended.
He noted that globally more than 52 countries have defied the
sanctions regime and others have stepped up their assistance to
the DPRK. He mentioned in particular the recent rice shipment
sent by the people and government of Vietnam to assist in
alleviating the food shortage in the DPRK.
 A significant part of Prof.
Chung's presentation focused on
the political crisis within the U.S. and the Trump
administration's difficulties and challenges dealing with the
powerful establishment behind the U.S. government -- what he
referred to as the U.S. Military Industrial Complex (borrowing the term
coined by U.S. President
Eisenhower). He gave his
opinion that President Trump's seeming willingness to engage with
the DPRK and build on a friendly relationship with Chairman Kim
Jong Un, manifest at the historic first DPRK-U.S. Summit in
Singapore on June 12, 2018 and the subsequent Hanoi Summit
between the two leaders on February 27-28, 2019, was being
undermined by warmongers U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton
and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who are operating on an
agenda to subdue the DPRK.
In the face of these complexities,
Prof. Chung concluded, the DPRK has continued to uphold its
stature in the world community as a sovereign independent state.
Besides building its legitimate defence capacity, he said, the
DPRK is establishing principled fraternal relations with the ROK
and other friendly nations, including China and Russia, in order
to advance its development on the basis of mutual interests.
The participants at the meeting highly appreciated Prof.
Chung's insights and opinions. In concluding the forum, the
spokesperson for the Korea Truth Commission (Canadian Chapter)
thanked Prof. Chung, wishing him continued success in the
important work he is doing and said he looks forward to his next visit
to Canada to continue the discussion.
This article was published in
Volume 49 Number 23 - June 22, 2019
Article Link:
Update on the Situation on the Korean
Peninsula: Toronto Meeting on Current Developments in the Struggle for Peace and Reunification
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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