And Now, North Korea Goes Nuke

Apart form alleged nuclear ambitions - what forced DPR-Korea to do so

When the USA was full of glee as the ascend of its ‘own' fellow, the South Korean Foreign Minister, at the secretary general's chair on the 38th floor of the UN office got assured, it got a little jolt form the north of the thick concrete wall it made at the 38° Parallel that divides Korea. It might have been a coincidence that North Korea blasted its first Nuke bomb at that time, but it was not startling to Korea watchers; that North Korea was going to do so was just a matter of time. Neither there is any reason to believe that DPR-Korea, alias North Korea, is a so-called ‘communist' country – i.e., correctly speaking, a country in the phase of Transition to Socialism, under the Dictatorship of Proletariat; nor we are judging the ‘ethics' of building Nuclear Armament. We need to probe the Korean Nuke episode from altogether a different angle, in the historical perspective of particularly what they call ‘the end of history'. Otherwise, we shall land in the US/West fabricated nonsensical psychoanalysis of an allegedly secretive ‘communist'/‘Stalinist' state, and ignore real, factual side of the story.

North Korea is now ravaged – perhaps more agonizingly than Korea was ruined by the Japanese until the end of Second World War, and then by the US imperialism, by their brutish war of containing the spread of ‘communism'. DPR-K is not facing US bullets and bombs now; rather it is sentenced to starve and to freeze to death by the ‘international community' led by the US imperialist devil. And this is going on since the demise of the Soviet led pseudo-socialist ‘eastern block' and dissolution of the USSR in 1991, which robbed DPRK of imports highly necessary to sustain itself – a legacy of ‘development' based on Eastern Block's assistance, aid and subsidised exports, in spite of proudly proclaiming its juche [self-reliance] idea all through the years. Within 7-8 years, the ‘energy crisis' forced DPRK to reduce rail and roadways traffic by more than 50%. Electricity is so scarce that almost 40% of the time it is not there; stories in media suggested that even high level govt meetings are held in candlelight! Agricultural production deteriorated, as there is no diesel for the ‘highly mechanised' agriculture, tractors are not moving for want of spares also, then ‘chemical' fertilisers are in short supply… at a time agricultural production nose dived to half! Bad luck again – floods and other natural disasters soared in this period to make things more horrific. In a recent year, DPRK was having 1.1 million tonnes rice shortage – and the ‘benevolent' ‘rich' European powers send aid of 40,000 tonnes, only 3.6% of the shortfall! South Korea was more magnanimous; it sent 400,000 tonnes food, to be repaid in 20 years time at only 1% interest. The US even stopped its promised heating oil supply at the start of the winter 3-4 years back – to teach DPRK a lesson by freezing them at -40 ° ! Some international aid workers travelling in the once ‘developed' ‘industrialised' north east of DPRK were shocked seeing malnourishment among children far greater than in Africa: 12-13 year old children are looking like 6-7 years old ones, so undernourished they are! China donated about 530,000 tonnes of food aid by in 2005, making up 49% of the food aid North Korea receives. South Korea was the second biggest donor to North Korea in 2005, contributing 36% on top of China 's 49%. In spite of these donations, over 22 percent of the population of North Korea is classified as malnourished and recent evidence suggests serious food shortages continue. The terrible thing is – even if DPRK can manage the money to buy things, it cannot do so due to ‘embargo' imposed by the US led imperialist axis. However, managing money is difficult for DPRK whose one of the principal source of income was from Missile sales! But then, DPRK is a tiny weapon-seller compared with the USA , the latter supplies 45% of world trade in arms. The USA is hell bent on smashing DPRK: how dare an ex east-block regime can defy USA !

USA is toying with both alternatives since 1994 – either war, or starve-to-death so that the present DPRK regime breaks down in its own. Both did not succeed till date. The South Korean govt in the mid 1990s strongly opposed another Korean war that would take heavy toll on South Korea too – the US govt estimated several thousands of its own soldiers would die along with many tens or hundreds of thousands of South Korean casualties, as that war would be more difficult than ‘desert storm'. But the USA has not dropped the idea of direct war based on South Korea , where always 30,000 or more US troops with sophisticated weaponry are stationed. US army's notorious advisers in RAND, who previously miscalculated so many times including in the Vietnam days, prophesised in the late 1990s ‘Regime Collapse' or ‘Outbreak of Major War' within 2006-07. The chiefs of the evil empire never grasp a thing called anti-imperialist or anti-US Nationalism among third world countries which gives the masses extra energy to sustain hardships and difficulties imposed by the imperialists, which prevents ‘regime collapse, etc. They should learn from their own neighbour Latin America .

The then ex-president Jimmy Carter's initiative to stall war and start talking led to the Geneva Accord between USA and DPRK in October 1994. And how dramatically Jimmy Carter stalled the war! Just after meeting president Kim he telephoned from DPRK to the US president who was then sitting in the war-plan meeting, and said that DPRK was ready to negotiate and had no nuclear arms ambition. Knowing very well that he might well be ignored, Carter warned that he had the CNN crew with him and the whole story will be life telecasted over the world after his phone call – which really happened! 50 thousand US soldiers were then waiting in South Korea for green signal to march north…. The USA broke all its promises that it made, however paltry they were, only keeping in view the above two alternatives. Let us see a couple of examples only: [1] Although the 1994 Agreed Framework obligated the consortium to complete construction of both light water reactors by 2003, years passed without any action other than building the infrastructure needed to support the construction project. The U.S. calculated that North Korea would not long survive its economic difficulties and that if construction of the reactors could be delayed long enough, they need never be built. Newly elected President Bush openly expressed his disdain for the 1994 Agreed Framework, and it was only in August 2002 that cement was finally poured for the foundation of the first reactor. The delay tactic is still there. [2] Article 3 clearly stated, “The U.S. will provide formal assurances to the DPRK against the threat or use of nuclear weapons by the U.S. ” Nonetheless, USA went on threatening by military exercises, one of them being an exercise of dropping Nuclear Bomb on DPRK in 1998! It started media misinformation drive to isolate DPRK with stories of secret Nuclear Weapon Program of DPRK just shortly after that 1994 treaty, so sadly managed stories that even South Korean Govt officials ignored them. It bunged any possibility of bilateral talks, etc; and thus pushed DPRK at first in 2003 to pull out of the bogus Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which gives the super powers right to build up and maintain nuclear arsenal while demands others not to make any; and then finally in to announce 3rd Oct 2006 that they will blast their own nuke bomb. Nevertheless, going nuke is not the only thing DPRK govt tried in the last 15 years. It has shown its willingness to stop nuclear measures if their critical condition is looked after and if it receives due aids, loans, etc; it has shown its willingness to join international trade blocks, it started building its big [nearly 200,000 acre] Special Economic Zone in 1994, it started collaborating with trans-national corporations and etc.

China is the ‘closest' ally DPRK has, and China too condemned the Nuke test. However, China and Russia too have their own geopolitical reasons of not yielding to US plots regarding DPRK easily and totally. China is now the biggest partner of South Korea in trade, not the US . China and Russia certainly will not like further US presence in front of their noses in mainland Asia . That was the reason behind their magnanimity towards DPRK, their aids, and etc. Again, having a nuke powered Korea as a close neighbour is also not a very pleasant thing for them. Both these superpowers are in a dilemma. Japan is angry, as angry an US protectorate cum ally should be. But had the Japanese people forgot what their govt did to Korea until the mid 1940s? The Japanese government paid to the South Korean government $800 million in compensation for colonial and wartime activities at the time of normalization of diplomatic relations in 1965. A good gesture of an US ally to another that was. But what about North Korea getting its due? An expert of the western world's ‘Institute for International Economics' stated in the year 2000, the amount DPRK can claim to be 5 to 8 billion $!! Working class and toiling people of Japan must ponder: Withholding that fabulous amount owed to a starving neighbour, an amount that can pull DPRK out of crisis if embargoes are lifted, and condemning their Nuke test – is that not a duplicity of the Japanese ruling class?

Western and other pro-US media report that South Koreans are furious over the North's Nuke test. May be many there are feeling so. However, in both North and South Korea , there was, and still is, a strong feeling for reunion. Korean Unification is a public agenda, the official DPRK website bears testimony to this and South Korea even has a ministry for unification. South Korean people are also passing through a tough time. Govt cum capitalist-imperialist assault on the workers and labour unrest, struggles, strikes are continuing. They should defeat the pro-US misinformation campaign and destabilisation game against DPRK; they must spread the facts regarding DPRK. While doing so, they need not support at all the pseudo-socialist DPRK government's nuclear programme. DPRK govt's nuke test is just a way, though perhaps not the only way or best way , to show the imperialist hyenas, the Bushmen & Co. that they too have little sharp teeth and claws. They were pushed hard by the US to do so. Two other things: # US govt should remember that Koreans, like their Chinese, Japanese etc sisters and brothers have enough brains, and they need not steal Nuke bomb secrets – they can do that if they want. # After Saddam's defeat a current of thought has bolstered among third world rulers – you need those nukes if you want to face, with dignity, the US thug. Workers of DPRK and South Korea need to forge unity for struggle against US led imperialist axis, against globalisation, and march forward towards a truly liberated and democratic Korea , a Korea without the despised Wall.

The govt of India also condemned the Korean nuke test and joined the chorus of US led ‘international community' demanding strong ‘sanctions' – what a bad joke! Working class of India knows that the US led axis has sanctioned starvation-malnutrition and no proper medical treatment to Iraq that took thousands of lives there. Same thing they are trying in DPR Korea. And how the Indian govt can condemn DPRK nuke test when that same govt has blasted its own nuke bombs since 1974 – certainly not for peaceful ends, as nuclear power generation capability or development of nuclear science does not need any such test; the govt of India did so only to project itself as the South Asian regional superpower, which gave rise to nuclear race in south Asia that led to Pakistan's nuke tests. Working class of India should join the yet feeble international voice that demands: Hands Off Korea – you evil imperialists!

[We thank Gregory Elich, and Z net for the very revealing cum fascinating article “Targeting North Korea ” which can be had from Z net at http://www.zmag.org/elich_korea.htm from which we borrowed much.]

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