People's Democracy

KOREAN PENINSULA

Reactionaries Out To Destroy Joint Accord

THE US loyalists in South Korea have dealt another blow to the process that ensued from the historic north-south summit in Pyongyang last year.

With the arrival of George W Bush as US president and the application of his hawkish policy towards the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), the South Korean reactionary forces have multiplied their attacks against the process of reconciliation. Their aim is to block the application of the joint north-south accord of June 15, 2000. These conservative parties, including the opposition Grand National Party (GNP), dealt a blow to the process under way by forcing, on September 3, a member of the Kim Dae Jung’s government to resign.

It was well known that these parties were not happy with the approval given by the South Korean minister of reunification to several hundreds of representatives of social and religious groups from South Korea to participate in the "Great Reunification Festival." That is why their parliamentary opposition groups did not give their vote of confidence to this minister who has been close to South Korean president, Kim Dae Jung.

The vote of confidence closely followed the proposition made by the DPR Korea to South Korea "to organise, as soon as possible, an inter-governmental meeting to apply the joint accord of June 15, 2000."

It will be noted that ever since this joint accord of historic importance for the Korean nation was signed, as a result of an arduous initiative of the DPR Korea, South Korean reactionaries have been trying to block its application. They have been openly fulminating against this policy of reconciliation, called the "sunshine policy" of Kim Dae Jung.

The hardening of the American stance towards the DPR Korea gave further encouragement to these forces that have been hostile to the peaceful and independent reunification of the country. They are worried, in the main, about their power and enormous privileges that are likely to get endangered as a result of the unification. These forces have also been heavily dependent on American money and can go to any extent to push the US policy ahead in the peninsula. The main aim of this US policy has been to block the peaceful and independent reunification of Korea. The Bush administration has already interrupted the negotiations between the DPRK and the US just in order to block the north-south reconciliation process.

Starting with an Agreed Framework in 1994, the DPRK-US negotiations aimed at normalising the relations between the two countries and working in favour of détente and long-lasting peace in the Korean peninsula. Though with certain ups and downs, these negotiations continued till George W Bush came into office.

Immediately after assuming office, Bush voiced his intention to apply "a policy of intransigence towards the DPRK," accompanied these words with threats and hostile measures against the DPRK, and stopped the talks.

When the international community criticised this aggressive behaviour, the American president tempered his words and declared that his administration would "examine the policy towards the North" before resuming the negotiations.

Then, two months ago, Bush announced that the "examination" period was over and that the talks would resume under certain conditions. Yet, his administration has obviously been creating obstacles to prevent such a resumption of talks.

Yet, this attitude is in accordance with the US imperialist strategy in the Korean peninsula. What the US wants is to maintain its domination in South Korea at any cost and, if possible, to spread it throughout Korea by eliminating the DPRK. This US policy towards Korea fits in the framework of its drive for global hegemony.

But Bush’s manoeuvres are too obvious to fool anyone. It is well known that a solution to the "Korean problem" depends much on the development of the DPRK-US relations, as the US is responsible for the division of Korea over the last 56 years and the US troops are still in occupation of the south.

This US stance comes as a challenge to the progressive and peace-loving forces in the Korean peninsula, and in the world, who had welcomed the progress made in the direction of Korean unity. For, the unification will enable the Korean nation to exercise its sovereignty, decide its own future and promote détente and peace in the peninsula.

Several organisations in the peninsula have, therefore, decided to work even harder to get wide popular support for the proper application of the joint north-south accord of June 15, 2000. This was also the resolve of the Great Reunification Festival that took place on August 15-16 under the banner of the broad-based Pan-National Alliance for the Reunification of the Country (APRP) and the Workers Party of Korea (WPK) that is ruling the DPRK. The WPK observed, on October 10, the 56th anniversary of its formation. It will be noted that the WPK was formed in 1945 with the merger of the Communist Party of Korea, the vanguard of the liberation struggle, and some other parties and groups that had taken part in that struggle.