July 27, 2010 - No. 140

57th Anniversary of U.S. Defeat in Korean War

Oppose U.S. Provocations Against the Korean People!

Seoul, Korea, July 21, 2010. Left: Protest outside the War Memorial Hall.
Right: Demonstration outside government offices. (SPARK)

• Oppose U.S. Provocations Against the Korean People!
• Toronto Public Forum
• Pyongyang Meeting Marks 57th Anniversary of Victory in War
• South Koreans Demand Truth about 'Cheonan' Sinking

For Your Information
• South Korea and U.S. Launch "Invincible Spirit" Exercise
• Why China Opposes U.S.-South Korean Military Exercises in the Yellow Sea - People's Daily
• DPRK-U.S. Military Working Contacts

57th Anniversary of U.S. Defeat in Korean War

Oppose U.S. Provocations Against the Korean People!

On July 21 U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton made despicable war-mongering remarks against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) at the Demilitarized Zone which divides north and south Korea. Repeating the lie that the DPRK was responsible for sinking the south Korean corvette Cheonan -- a claim that even the UN Security Council could not accept as truthful -- she announced that new U.S. sanctions are to be imposed on the DPRK. Then, together with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates she declared that the largest U.S.-south Korean war exercises would commence on July 25 and continue for four days, coinciding with the anniversary of the date the U.S. was forced to sign the armistice with the DPRK 57 years ago.

Seoul, Korea, July 21, 2010: Some eight anti-war, labour, reunification and other organizations held a joint press conference outside a government building complex. Banner reads "Joint Press Conference to Denounce the 'ROK-U.S. Foreign and Defense Ministers’ Meeting.'  We denounce the ROK-U.S. '2+2 meeting' that makes the invasive ROK-US alliance permanent! Bottom left: "'Invincible Spirit' for the destruction of peace on the Korean Peninsula?” Bottom right: "Stop the ROK-U.S. maritime drill that threatens the peace in the Korean peninsula!"; "ROK-US joint war exercise -- as the follow-up measure of the Cheonan ship incident? Examine the truth first!" (SPARK)

All of this reveals that the U.S. is hell bent on creating pretexts to perpetuate instability and instigate war in Asia. Instead of sorting out the crisis it created with the fabrication of the lie that the DPRK sank the Cheonan, the U.S. is creating an ever greater crisis by holding massive joint military exercises with south Korea in an attempt to isolate the DPRK. Furthermore, these war preparations are on China's doorstep and also involve Japan. The principled stand of the DPRK in defence of its sovereignty and independence and its determination to continue defending the dignity and honour of the Korean nation and China's protests against the U.S. provocation have forced the U.S. to backpeddle somewhat while continuing its provocative path.

TML denounces these U.S. and south Korean desperate measures. The U.S. must be forced to sign a permanent peace treaty with the DPRK, remove all its troops and nuclear and other weapons from the Korean peninsula and surrounding seas, and accept the verdict of history that it will not win. Instead, the U.S. is going the opposite way and pushing adventurism to more dangerous and alarming heights. The fact that Clinton did all this in Panmunjom, the scene of U.S. humiliation and defeat 57 years ago today speaks volumes about U.S. revanchism and shows the dangers which lie ahead. Never again must the U.S. and its allies, including Canada, be permitted to rain death and destruction on the Korean people as they did during the Korean War. The fact that Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates went to Korea to announce that the joint exercises would commence on July 25th shows the dangers which lie ahead.

The Korean War was filled with crimes. These criminal provocations and sanctions announced by Hilary Clinton on behalf of the Obama administration reveal the ongoing campaign of U.S. imperialism to continue to keep Korea divided, so as to hold on to their military base in south Korea -- as a launching pad for wars of aggression against China and Russia and to take over Asia and the world. The announcement by the U.S. and its puppet regime in south korea of a series of 10 joint-military exercises to "prepare for aggression from the north" is another violation of the Korean Armistice Agreement which could easily ignite another disastrous Korean war - this time a nuclear conflagration which could engulf the whole world.

With the Eurocentric outlook of the U.S. imperialists, Clinton stated that "these measures are not directed at the people of North Korea, who have suffered too long due to the misguided priorities of their government. They (the sanctions) are directed at the destabilizing, illicit, and provocative policies pursued by that government." This is a complete whitewash of the fact that it is the U.S. that has the main responsibility for all the historic crimes committed against the Korean people including the launching of the Korean War.

It is not for the U.S. to decide the type of government, the political system or the future of the Korean people. The Korean people led by the DPRK have settled that question. They have chosen the path of sovereignty, independence and peace and Clinton will do well to remember that the DPRK defeated the U.S. in the Korean War and forced it to sign the Armistice Agreement. She will do well to remember as well that none of the sanctions imposed by the U.S. on the DPRK have worked in the past nor will they work in the future because the U.S. is up against a government and a people who defend their honour and dignity with their lives, and are collectively working with their fellow Koreans in the south and overseas to realize their sacred project of peaceful, independent reunification and to safeguard peace on the Korean peninsula.

All justice and peace-loving people in Canada and the world must resolutely condemn this latest provocation against the DPRK, demand the lifting of all sanctions against the DPRK, demand that the U.S. immediately sign a peace treaty proposed by the DPRK and immediately cease all U.S.-south Korean military exercises on Korean territory.

July 27, 1953. Top: U.S. General William K. Harrison (left) and KPA General Nam Il sign the Armistice Agreement
in Pamnunjon on the DPRK side of the Demilitarized Zone.Bottom left: U.S. forces retreat in defeat.
Bottom right: forces of the KPA celebrate victory.

Toronto Public Forum

On July 25, 2010 the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist), along with the Korea Truth Commission (Canadian Chapter) and the 6.15 Joint Declaration Committee (Canada) hosted a public forum in Toronto to mark the 60th Anniversary of the start of the Korean War and the 57th Anniversary of the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement. On the same day, the U.S., south Korea and Japan began their extremely provocative naval war exercises in the East Sea of Korea (also known as the Sea of Japan), signalling intensified threats of war by the U.S. and its puppet Lee Myung Bak regime in south Korea against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the entire Korean people.

CPC(M-L)'s spokesperson, Philip Fernandez, welcomed the participants and began his presentation by saying that the 60th anniversary of the Korean war cannot be discussed without addressing these current war threats and the U.S. imperialists' modus operandi, in particular how pretexts are being fabricated by the U.S. and its allies to justify war and aggression against Korea.

Philip pointed out that on June 25, 1950 the pretext used by the U.S. and its allies to launch its barbarous war of aggression in Korea was that the DPRK initiated an unprovoked and unexpected attack across the 38th parallel against south Korea. Despite compelling evidence that it was the U.S. and its anti-communist puppet Syngman Rhee who started the war, the Anglo-American imperialists, including the Canadian state, persist in repeating this lie using the Nazi logic that if you repeat a lie often enough it becomes a truth. This disinformation, he said, is carried out to justify further aggression and war against the DPRK and the Korean people and to use Korea as a base from which to launch wars of aggression and occupation against China and Russia and to take over the whole world.

Today, he said, war preparations are being stepped up against the DPRK on the basis of the fabrication that the DPRK was responsible for the sinking of the south Korean corvette Cheonan during the annual U.S.-south Korean "Foal Eagle" naval exercises last March. New sanctions are being imposed unilaterally on the DPRK by the U.S. in violation of the Armistice Agreement signed July 27, 1953, international law and the Presidential Statement of the U.N. Security Council of July 9, which does not blame the DPRK for the sinking.

Philip explained that workers and the people must be very vigilant and oppose the fraudulent arguments of the imperialist warmongers used to justify all out war and aggression.

For example, the "moral equivalency" argument postulates that another Korean War is justified on the basis of allegations by the U.S., Canada and others that the DPRK is a "dictatorship," an "abuser of human rights," a "nuclear proliferator," etc. The same kind of argument is used, he said, by the Zionist government of Israel and its U.S. and Canadian backers: first they label Hamas as "terrorist" and on that basis they claim that the U.S.-Israeli state terror and genocide against the Palestinian people are justified.

The Obama doctrine of "fighting permanent war to secure peace" is another fraudulent attempt to justify wars and aggression, rather than sorting out political conflicts that arise between nations and people without the use of force, Philip added.

One of the features of the U.S. and its allies is the brutal revanchist spirit to punish the leadership, government and people of any nation that stands up to the U.S., including Iran. The DPRK was the first nation, and a small nation at that, to defeat the mighty self-proclaimed champion of the "free world" forcing it to sign the Armistice Agreement on July 27, 1953. The U.S. has never come to terms with that defeat, he said. It was not lost on the Korean people that on July 21, Hilary Clinton was standing just south of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone, a few miles south of the place in the DPRK where the U.S. was forced to come to sign the Armistice Agreement, when she made her provocative speech for regime change in the DPRK and announced further sanctions and more U.S.-south Korea naval exercises.

He called for greater vigilance in the face of these fraudulent arguments and this revanchist spirit, which are fuelling the very real danger of the Korean peninsula becoming a tinderbox that could ignite a cataclysmic nuclear war and engulf the whole world.

Canadians have a duty to the Korean people to ensure that another Korean war does not break out, Philip stated, saying this is the only way to redeem Canada for the 27,000 soldiers sent to participate in this war of aggression and for the actions of the Harper government, which is marching to the U.S. drums of war against the Korean people under the hoax of "freedom, democracy, human rights and rule of law."

Canadians have plenty of experience with the Canadian government's self-serving notion of "human rights" and the "rule of law" to justify aggression overseas or state repression at home, such as the criminalization of dissent at the G8/20 Summits. The situation calls for the working class and the people to organize themselves to elect an anti-war government which opposes the use of force to settle conflicts between nations and peoples and works to build the fraternal unity of the peoples of the world based on the principle of non-interference in the affairs of sovereign nations, Philip concluded.

The second speaker at the forum was Hack Pil Chung, a representative of the 6.15 Declaration Committee (Canada). He opened by denouncing the barbarism and disinformation of the U.S. to instigate the Korean war in 1950 and to perpetrate another Korean war today. He then addressed the sinking of the south Korean corvette Cheonan in the West Sea on March 26 which, in spite of lack of evidence, the U.S. and its allies blame on the DPRK.

Hack noted that more and more voices around the world are challenging the results of the military-civilian joint investigation group (JIG), including scientists in south Korea, such as a former officer and ship builder who was part of the investigation team for the south Korean side into the incident before being removed because he could not agree with the findings. Even the Presidential Statement of the UN Security Council avoids blaming the DPRK for the sinking and noted the DPRK's own statements which deny it had anything to do with the incident, Hack noted.

Hack pointed out that reports from the south Korean military demonstrate the absurdity of the allegations that the DPRK sank the corvette. For example, initial reports by the south Korean military as to the time and nature of the incident were that the corvette was grounded on a sand bank or mud and later sank due to unknown causes. Meanwhile the final report of the JIG was that it sank suddenly from an external underwater explosion caused by a torpedo. Neither the state of the corvette after sinking nor statements of witnesses indicate that a torpedo caused the incident. One of the main "arguments" of the JIG report is based on a torpedo turbine allegedly found near the point of the sinking. It bears writing in blue ink that supposedly confirms it as being from the DPRK. How this writing "miraculously" survived the alleged explosion has not been explained. Hack noted how the Swedish members of the JIG were expelled after challenging the findings of the investigation, at which point Canadian experts were sent just two days before the JIG finished its report, so as to put Canada's stamp of approval on it. Within an atmosphere of sabre-rattling in south Korea, the naval administration has sued several people for challenging the way the investigation was conducted and its findings. The captain of the Cheonan, as well as all the other survivors, have been kept incommunicado since the time of the sinking.

People are demanding a genuine investigation be carried out, said Hack. The DPRK is demanding that its own team be sent to the site of the sinking to examine the evidence, a demand that has been rejected by the U.S, he added.

Hack's presentation was followed by questions and comments with participants voicing their opposition to the fabrication of pretexts by the U.S. imperialists and their allies, including Canada, in order to launch wars of aggression and occupation.

The forum unanimously adopted a resolution opposing the U.S.-led provocations that threaten to unleash another Korean War and demanding that Canada stop all provocations against the DPRK and normalize its relations with it.

Informal discussion followed the program and highlighted the need for forums of this kind everywhere in order to make people aware of these organized provocations and fraudulent arguments and how they are used to justify wars of aggression.

Resolution

We the participants:

1. Demand that the United States immediately sign a Peace Treaty with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to end the Korean War as a pre-condition to normalizing relations between the two countries;

2. Demand that the extremely provocative U.S./south Korea/Japan joint naval exercises that began today in the East Sea, and all further U.S.-led military exercises on and around the Korean peninsula be stopped immediately;

3. Demand the immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops and weaponry and the shutting down of all U.S. military bases in south Korea.

Furthermore, we demand:

That the Harper government in Canada stop all provocations against the DPRK and move to immediately normalize relations with that country in order to contribute to peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and build peaceful fraternal relations between the people of Canada and the people of the DPRK.

Pyongyang Meeting Marks
57th Anniversary of Victory in War

A national meeting was held at the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium July 26 to mark the 57th anniversary of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's victory in the Korean War, also known as the great Fatherland Liberation War.

In attendance at the meeting were senior officials of the Workers' Party of Korea, state officials, representatives of public institutions, war veterans and other distinguished service people of the Korean People's Army (KPA), officials from the fields of culture, education, arts, public health and media, the chief of the Pyongyang mission of the Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front, and many others.

During the hard fought three-year war, the Korean people and their army defended the country and its sovereignty from the U.S.-led imperialist forces who had instigated the war under the cover of the UN. The Korean people shattered the myth of "mightiness" of the U.S. imperialists, who still today boast of being the "strongest" in the world, and handed them their first defeat of the modern era.

KPA Vice Marshal Kim Yong Chun, vice-chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission and minister of the People's Armed Forces, delivered a report at the meeting which pointed out that this was an outstanding victory in the history of modern war. The success was attributed to the military ideas and strategy based on the Juche idea (self-reliance), the audacity and outstanding leadership of President Kim Il Sung.

This victory defended the DPRK and the gains of the revolution, frustrating the moves of the U.S. imperialists for a new world war and protecting the security and peace of mankind, the report noted.

The report also pointed out how the legendary feats of President Kim Il Sung and his victorious tradition and outlook have been steadfastly carried forward to imbue generation after generation under the outstanding revolutionary leadership of Kim Jong Il.

The report noted now Kim Jong Il made a scientific analysis of the international environment and the rapidly changing situation of the Korean revolution at a time when a dire situation was facing the DPRK and the Korean nation. On this basis, he enforced Songun politics in all fields on a new higher level, which calls for giving priority to military affairs and regarding revolutionary armed forces as main forces in the socialist nation-building project, thereby providing a firm political and military guarantee for final victory in the confrontation with the U.S. The report expressed utmost confidence in the leadership of the DPRK, saying that the unity of the people and their leadership make them invincible.

The U.S. should realize that its war of aggression like the Korean War it started on June 25, 1950 is bound to end in the victory of Songun Korea just as it ended in the victory of the Korean people on July 27, 1953, said the report.

The DPRK will further bolster its nuclear deterrence in a new advanced manner to cope with the increasing nuclear threat of the U.S. This is a legitimate sovereign right of the DPRK and a mode of merciless counteraction of its revolutionary armed forces as they have always emerged victorious in the fight against the enemies, the report stated.

Should the U.S. imperialists and the Lee Myung Bak group of traitors finally ignite a new war of aggression in Korea despite the repeated warnings of the DPRK, it will mobilize the tremendous military potential including its nuclear deterrence for self-defence and thus wipe out the aggressors and their strongholds, the report said. By doing so it will clearly show what a real war will look like and completely eradicate the root cause of war, the report affirmed.

(Korean Central News Agency)

South Koreans Demand Truth about
'Cheonan' Sinking

In south Korea, there is widespread mistrust of the government's joint military-civilian investigation group (JIG) and its explanation into the sinking of the warship Cheonan, as well as opposition to using the results of the "investigation" as a pretext for war. Many reports in the media point to evidence that is not explained by the investigation, the results of which have yet to be released, except for a short five-page summary. The calibre of the report is such that when the team concluded its work, it was shamelessly characterized by one of its authors as a work of "scientific imagination."

On July 20, the South Headquarters of the Pan-Korean Alliance for Reunification (BomMinRyon) issued a statement which affirmed its determination to find out the truth about the sinking of the Cheonan. The statement referred to a report issued by the south Korean organization People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) which pointed out that the Ministry of National Defense's assertion about the size and name of a submarine which allegedly attacked the warship Cheonan and its movements contradicts the "joint investigation team" which reported on May 20.

The south Korean Media Verification Committee to Probe the Truth of the Warship Cheonan also confirmed that the point of explosion announced by the JIG was wrong. As a result, doubts about the case of the warship sinking are increasing day by day, the statement noted.

The "crucial evidence" produced by the authorities to put the blame for the case at the door of the DPRK turned out to be a "crucial fabrication," it stated.

The Alliance gave the view that the Lee Myung Bak regime, which failed to win recognition for its anti-DPRK accusations on the international stage, is getting frantic in staging war exercises against the DPRK. The Lee regime has spurned the possibility of an inter-Korean joint investigation and refused to apologize for its spurious accusations.

Meanwhile, PSPD has been criminalized for its work to ensure an atmosphere of calm and restraint prevails in region by opposing the spurious results of the "joint investigation group." TML is posting below a July 21 open letter from PSPD which explains the situation.

***

Dear Friends, Human Rights Defenders and Peace Activists

People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD), a watchdog NGO in South Korea established in 1994, urgently appeals to the international community for support and solidarity. PSPD has been oppressed and threatened by the Lee Myung Bak government.

PSPD sent a report 'PSPD's Stance on the Final Investigation Report on the Cheonan' to the members of the UN Security Council on June 11, 2010. The report raised questions, which still need answers and clarifications, on the government investigation result and called upon the UN Security Council to make a decision heavily prioritizing peace on the Korean Peninsula.

As all of you are well aware, NGOs' consultation and communication with the UN is a right stated in the UN Charter, and NGOs like everyone are granted to exert fundamental rights such as the freedom of opinion and expression. However, the Lee Myung Bak government is accusing PSPD of being unpatriotic and PSPD's report as 'against national interests and security.' It is also arguing that PSPD's letter to the UN Security Council aids the enemy, North Korea, which denies its involvement in the Cheonan incident. In addition, it fallaciously asserts that it is out of the ordinary that an NGO holds a position contrary to its government.

Right after official accusations from the government, on June 16, 2010, the Prosecutor's Office initiated an investigation into whether PSPD violated the National Security Law, of which the UN recommended the abolition and whether sending a report to the UN Security Council is defamation under the Korean criminal law. Accordingly, the Prosecutor's Office plans interrogations of PSPD staff members.

The Blue House (the presidential house of the Republic of Korea), the Prime Minister, and the Grand National Party's (the current ruling party of the ROK) floor leader, among others, officially denounced PSPD as below.

On June 15, 2010, the Grand National Party, Spokesperson, Hae Jin Cho stated that "PSPD's behavior is a typical enemy-benefiting behavior... Harsh constitutional measures must be imposed on those who try to sell/betray the country while hiding behind the freedom and democracy."

On June 15, 2010, the Grand National Party's floor leader, Moo Sung Kim stated that "I think that [such behavior] is enemy-benefiting behavior that threatens the identity of the Republic of Korea and injures our national security... Even though South Korea is a democratic country guaranteeing freedom of expression, I cannot tolerate such irresponsible, pro-DPRK conduct benefiting the enemy... PSPD should voluntarily dissolve.. [PSPD] must pay the price."

On June 14, 2010, the spokesperson of the Blue House stated that "this is a shameful and worrisome situation... I really want to ask PSPD their underlying purpose in engaging in such behavior."

On June 14, 2010, the Prime Minister Chung Un Chan stated that "I wonder of what nationality they [PSPD] are. Such actions are against national interest. [PSPD's actions] dishonored and shamed our country."

On June 15, 2010, the 2nd Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Chun Yung Woo replied to the question "Are there any cases in which an NGO sent a position paper contradicting the government on a security issue?" " I have never heard of such an NGO, and documents sent by an NGO cannot be a UNSC document."

PSPD believes that diplomacy and security policy should be under the citizenry's watch and democratic control. National Security and diplomatic policy should not be monopolized by military and diplomatic authorities. As a member of international society, PSPD will continuously make every effort to advance the universal goals of democracy and peace through its activities as a political watchdog.

(Korean Central News Agency, People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy)

For Your Information

South Korea and U.S. Launch
"Invincible Spirit" Exercise

The aircraft carrier USS George Washington, one of the world's largest warships, is part of the U.S.-led war games taking place in the East Sea/Sea of Japan. It is accompanied by 3 destroyers, USS McCampbell, USS John S. McCain and USS Lassen. The carrier is 244 feet high, keel to mast and can accommodate some 6,250 crew members. (Xinhua)

On July 25, the large-scale, four-day U.S.-south Korea "Invincible Spirit" joint military exercise in the East Sea/Sea of Japan began. It is one of the military measures adopted in response to south Korea's spurious investigation finding the Democratic People's Republic of Korea responsible for the sinking of the warship Cheonan.

The South Korea-U.S Combined Forces Command stated on Sunday that the aircraft carrier USS George Washington of the United States Seventh Fleet, together with the Aegis destroyers USS McCampbell and USS John S. McCain, had left the south Korean port of Busan at around 7:00 am, headed for the East Sea. South Korea's Dokdo (14,000 tons), Asia's largest transportation vessel, accompanied the U.S. vessels to the training areas. This group has been joined by nuclear submarines and other vessels from the U.S. Seventh Fleet in the East Sea.

More than 20 vessels are taking part in "Invincible Spirit," including 3,200 ton-class Korean KDX-I destroyers, 4,500 ton-class Korean KDX-II destroyers, and 1,800 ton-class submarines. They are joined by more than 200 military aircraft, including four F-22 Raptors. This is the first time that the F-22, which boasts a stealth function, has officially participated in joint training exercises around the Korean peninsula, news agencies report. Their range and speed is such that they are capable of striking anywhere in the DPRK within one hour. In addition, more than 8,000 Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines personnel from both countries are taking part directly or indirectly.

These exercises also reportedly involve network defense, fuel supply and command and control (Marines), anti-submarine training (Navy), aerial refueling and live weapon joint attack training (Air Force) while the training area includes the vicinity of the East Sea Northern Limit Line (NLL). Marine manoeuvres training on July 26 was followed by shooting practice today. Real torpedoes were fired, and depth charges and decoy mines dropped to stop them. Seaborne manoeuvres such as refueling and supply transport will take place on July 28.

During the training period, four officers from Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), including a colonel, are observing from aboard the USS George Washington. This is the first time personnel from the JMSDF have observed Korean-U.S joint training exercises. After these exercises, another allied training program is planned for the Yellow Sea in September.

China has repeatedly expressed its opposition to these war exercises. The Chinese newspaper Global Times, gave a precise explanation of the amount of military power involved in the exercise, noting how it was the largest-scale exercise of its kind in 34 years.

On July 25, Rodong Sinmun, the official organ of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea issued a signed commentary denouncing the war exercises:

"It is the strategic goal of the U.S. imperialists to ignite another Korean war and stifle the Democratic People's Republic (DPRK) by force of arms and thus establish military domination over Asia.

"War has been averted and peace been preserved so far on the Korean Peninsula thanks to the positive efforts made by the DPRK to defend peace.

"The past history showed what miserable ends the warmongers met.

"Wars of aggression launched by the imperialists brought unspeakable disaster and catastrophic consequences to the people but the provocateurs suffered shameful defeat in the end.

"History knows no precedent of aggressors who met good ends.

"The U.S. imperialist warmongers are talking big about a 'preemptive nuclear attack' and 'surprise strike' but such rhetoric will never work on the DPRK.

"The DPRK is prepared for any war of aggression to be launched by the U.S. imperialists.

"If the U.S., obsessed with war hysteria, dares ignite a war of aggression against the DPRK, the army and people of the DPRK will fully settle accounts with the U.S. imperialists, their sworn enemy."

(Hankyoreh, Korean Central News Agency)

Why China Opposes U.S.-South Korean Military Exercises in the Yellow Sea

- People's Daily, July 16, 2010 -

Major General Luo Yuan, deputy secretary general with the People's Liberation Army Academy of Military Sciences, explained the reasons why China is opposed to the U.S.-South Korean military exercises in the Yellow Sea in a recent online discussion with netizens on People's Daily Online.

Luo pointed out five reasons behind China's opposition to the joint military exercises:

First, in terms of security, Chairman Mao Zedong once said, "We will never allow others to keep snoring beside our beds." If the United States were in China's shoes, would it allow China to stage military exercises near its western and eastern coasts? Just like an old Chinese saying goes, "Do not do unto others what you do not want others to do unto you," if the United States does not wish to be treated in a specific way, it should not forcefully sell that way to others.

Second, in terms of strategic thinking, China should take into account the worst possibility and strive to seek the best results. The bottom line of strategic thinking is to nip the problem in the bud. The ultimate level of strategic thinking is to subdue the enemy without fighting. Preventing crisis is the best way to resolve and overcome the crisis. China's current tough stance is part of preventive diplomacy.

Third, in terms of geopolitical strategy, the Yellow Sea is the gateway to China's capital region and a vital passage to the heartland of Beijing and Tianjin. In history, foreign invaders repeatedly took the Yellow Sea as an entrance to enter the heartland of Beijing and Tianjin. The drill area selected by the United States and South Korea is only 500 kilometers away from Beijing. China will be aware of the security pressure from military exercises conducted by any country in an area that is so close to China's heartland.

The aircraft carrier USS George Washington dispatched to the Yellow Sea has a combat radius of 600 kilometers and its aircraft has a combat radius as wide as 1,000 kilometers. Therefore, the military exercise in the area poses a direct security threat to China's heartland and the Bohai Rim Economic Circle.

Fourth, in a bid to safeguard security on the Korean Peninsula, the UN Security Council has just issued a presidential statement, requiring all parties to remain calm and restrained with respect to the so-called "Cheonan" naval ship incident, which had caused a major crisis on the Korean Peninsula.

On the other hand, the joint military exercise by the United States and South Korea on the Yellow Sea has created a new crisis. This is another reason why China strongly opposes the military exercise on the Yellow Sea. In order to safeguard security on the Korea Peninsula, no country should create a new crisis instead they should control and deal with the existing one.

Fifth, in terms of maintaining China-U.S. relations, especially the two parties' military relations, China declares its solemn stance to promote the healthy development of China-U.S. military relations. Therefore, China has clearly declared that it is willing to promote the development of the two parties' relations. Deputy Director of the General Staff Gen. Ma Xiaotian has also expressed his welcome to U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates to visit China at a proper time.

Ma had made it clear at a meeting in Singapore that three key problems greatly impeded China-U.S. exchanges. First, the United States' arms sales to Taiwan. Second, the frequently detected American military aircraft and ships over and on the East and South China seas at close range. Third, the 2000 U.S. National Defense Authorization Act and the Delay Amendment restricted military exchanges with China in 12 fields.

The current barriers have not been eliminated, while the United States has created another obstacle. This time, they not only sent military ships, nuclear submarines and Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers, but also aircraft carriers.

Luo added that a U.S. aircraft carrier had once been in the Yellow Sea in 1994, also known as the "Kitty Hawk incident," which caused strong reactions from China at that time. After that, aircraft carriers have never appeared in the Yellow Sea area.

The United States and South Korea said that the joint military exercise aims at putting pressure on North Korea and deterring North Korea's submarines. However, as the Yellow Sea is a marine outlet, the joint military exercises actually include the task of military surveillance. Any aircraft carrier has strong reconnaissance and early warning capacities therefore it can also monitor and detect on the circumjacent hydrologic geology, meaning that it can detect Chinese marine outlets over and over again.

As the Yellow Sea is a high sea, the aircraft carrier can also detect the hydro-geological conditions of China's submarines' channels out to sea. Therefore, the two purposes of the joint military exercise, strategic reconnaissance and testing initial combat plans, pose a threat to China. The United States has always talked about China as a military threat, but this joint military exercise by the United States and South Korea proves that it is not China but the U.S. military that is the threat.

DPRK-U.S. Military Working Contacts

The second round of the DPRK-U.S. senior colonel-level military working contact for probing the truth about Cheonan case took place in Panmunjom on July 23, as a step towards a general-level meeting.

The DPRK side confirmed the results of the U.S. forces side consideration of the DPRK's proposal for a field investigation by an inspection group of the National Defence Commission (NDC), which was made at the prior meeting on July 13.

The U.S. forces side merely repeated its previous unjust assertion that the Cheonan case should be handled within the framework of the Armistice Agreement as it constitutes a violation of the Armistice Agreement (AA).

The DPRK side chided the U.S. forces side for its insincere attitude of talking about a "violation of the AA" quite contrary to the DPRK's positive efforts for the objective and scientific clarification of the truth about the case. The Korean Central News Agency points out:

"As an agreement was already reached as regards the necessary working procedural matters including the schedule and agenda of the general-level talks, the U.S. forces side should unconditionally accept the NDC's proposal for a field investigation by its inspection group to have successful talks.

"As the U.S. forces side expressed understanding at the last contact, the NDC inspection group's field investigation is a prerequisite for the objective and scientific clarification of the truth.

"Only when the NDC inspection group's field inspection first takes place, will it be possible to open the DPRK-U.S. military general-level talks according to the results of an investigation conducted by both sides and discuss various issues helpful not only to the fair solution to the Cheonan case but to the improvement of the north-south relations and peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

"The U.S. forces side should show its sincerity towards the solution to the case by agreeing to a field investigation by the NDC inspection group as early as possible.

"If the 'results of the investigation' announced by the joint investigation team were objective and scientific as claimed by the U.S. forces side, there would be no reason for it to refuse to receive the inspection group."

At the July 23 contact, the DPRK side advanced the following specific proposal for the NDC inspection group's field investigation:

The NDC inspection group shall be made up of 20-30 members.

The period of investigation shall be 3-5 days or longer under a bilateral agreement.

All possible means including field inspection, analysis of "evidence," hearing of testimonies, collection and study of data, etc. shall be used for the NDC inspection group's field investigation.

The U.S. forces side shall provide data, objects and material evidence requested by the inspection group.

The NDC inspection group shall travel overland by vehicles of the DPRK side via Panmunjom.

The U.S. forces side should be responsible for all technical guarantees for the field inspection including a guide for the members of the inspection group, provision of conveniences and personal safety.

The DPRK side clarified that there is no reason for the U.S. forces side to refuse to accept the DPRK's most reasonable, fair and aboveboard proposal for clearing up the domestic and foreign doubts and mistrust in the Cheonan case and defusing the tension prevailing on the Korean Peninsula.

In closing, the DPRK side termed the projected U.S.-south Korea joint "Invincible Spirit" and "Ulji Freedom Guardian" military exercises targeted against the DPRK as further military provocations diametrically opposed to the atmosphere of dialogue.

Accusing the U.S. of resorting to an anti-DPRK military adventure while talking about a "negotiated settlement of the issue," the DPRK side declared this double-dealing attitude to be a dangerous one which is driving the situation on the Korean Peninsula to one of war.

The U.S. forces side would be seriously mistaken if it thinks it can browbeat the DPRK through large-scale war exercises.

It should immediately stop the anti-DPRK nuclear blackmail made under the false pretext of  blaming the DPRK for the sinking of the Cheonan, if it truly respects the just demand of the international community and is interested in ensuring peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the rest of Northeast Asia.

Both sides agreed to hold a third round of the senior colonel-level military meetings in Panmunjom around July 29.

(Korean Central News Agency)

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