12) DPRK DEFIES IMPERIALIST STRANGLEHOLD

By Sean Burton

     People's Korea has faced a plethora of new challenges since December. On December 12, the DPRK successfully placed a satellite into orbit with its Unha (Galaxy)‑3 carrier system. The USA and its allies view such rocket systems to be in violation of UN resolutions designed to deny the DPRK the right to produce long‑range ballistic missiles. Given the obvious similarities in the technology, it is a convenient way for the imperialist clique to heap more criticism and sanctions on Korea. Despite being a peaceful launch related to space‑exploration, the economic stranglehold against the DPRK is being tightened even more.

     Naturally, the mainstream media had only praise for South Korea's own satellite launch in January 2013. It is interesting that despite the South's economic clout and foreign support, they were beaten to the punch by what we are supposed to believe is a state teetering on the edge of collapse and full of starving people. The media also has not made much about new South Korean missiles designed for precision strikes anywhere within the Korean peninsula, or the order for all border troops to respond with fire to any provocation without having to first consult ROK military headquarters. Instead, people are constantly expected to accept that the DPRK is solely responsible for all problems and confrontations in the region.

     Similar misrepresentations are applied to the DPRK's nuclear weapons program. No one can deny that such weapons are deplorable, but they can nonetheless prove useful when being threatened by a country with vast force and nuclear weapons of its own. The DPRK probably could have developed such weaponry decades ago if it really cared to. Only since the fall of the Soviet Union has Korea actively sought nuclear weapons, since the US was beginning to apply further pressure and direct threat of annihilation to one of the world's few remaining socialist states.

     The DPRK's underground test in mid-February was significantly smaller than the US devices used in Japan in 1945. Once again, this test promoted a round of sanctions. What could possibly be left to sanction? It clearly does not bother the US that this economic warfare is causing far more harm than it solves. Indeed, that's precisely the point! They want Koreans to suffer as punishment for not going along with the capitalist order. The imperialists constantly insist that the DPRK is squandering resources on rockets when it should be feeding its people. In that scenario, the DPRK is acting in a vacuum, without rhyme or reason, "just for the hell of it". The idea that if the DPRK were to cut back its military spending, which is already miniscule compared to its enemies, the US and its supporters would back off and become friendly to a socialist state is supremely naive. Libya serves as a fine example in that regard!

     The US has continued to make threats, constantly reminding the Koreans that "all options are on the table", ominously including a preemptive strike to prevent another nuclear test. The joint US‑ROK military exercises, very much a part of intimidating the Korean People's Army, are once again going ahead this March. The claim that the exercises are defensive in nature is rather ludicrous given the location and scale. Hundreds of thousands of troops participate, and the maritime exercises in particular get quite close to a disputed border zone that has been the site of past incidents.

     In response, the supreme command of the Korean People's Army released an important statement on March 5, asserting the DPRK's right to autonomy and citing the war games as violations of the Korean armistice. The statement threatened to disregard the armistice agreement if it means guarding the DPRK's autonomy. The media has been going crazy over the statement, but the KPA has in the past made many such warnings not to be trifled with. This one should not be seen any differently.

(The above article is from the March 16-31, 2013, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)