Daily Headline – 06/04/13

Korean peninsula update

The Korean peninsula still dominates the global media in a one-sided look at the issue, the evil North Korea against the innocent US/South Korea. It’s almost as ridiculous as North Korea’s propaganda!

In the latest developments North Korea has told the embassies in Pyongyang that, in the event of war, it cannot guarantee their safety and that they should strongly consider evacuating the country, it has asked to be notified whether they are staying or going by the 10th April.
The US has moved missile defence systems to new locations including Guam and in a statement said that is is ready for any eventuality.

North Korea is guilty of lacking democracy, incompetent management, developing nuclear technology and a space program and as such pretty much just has China as a trading partner with sanctions coming from all corners of the globe. The US has a nuclear program, has used nuclear weapons against civilians and has a phoney two-party state ‘democracy’.
If you box someone into a corner, the only rational response is to lash out, from a caged animal to a country.

North Korea shouldn’t have nuclear weapons but should it be under such economic sanctions?
Are North Koreans actions and words justified? Have you ever thought about understanding the situation from their perspective?

No war, no nuclear weapons, it is the innocent, the working class who suffer.

US continues to antagonise North Korea

By Leon J Williams

If a nation who had killed or injured over 1.5 million civilians just 60 years ago and then subsequently continues to carry out military exercises on your doorstep, you’d be nervous and on edge to say the least.

Well this is the situation North Korea finds itself in.

Much of the worlds media has focused on the tyranny of North Korea and the Kim family dynasty that has ruled North Korea since its inception.
And while it is true that The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea does not belong to the people, is not a republic and is not democratic (1 out of 4 is true!) North Korea is behaving as anyone would and should expect given the circumstances.

In 1945 Korea was split in two without any consultation of the Korean people. The Soviets took the North and the Americans took the South in order to set up Korean governments following the end of Japanese colonial rule.

Who started the war?

Pretty much everyone will say North Korea and while this is true it does leave out an important piece of information. The North attacked the South because after calling for unity elections South Korea arrested North Korean diplomats, this is why the war started.

The war led to 2 million fatalities of the Northern alliance and 1 million from the Southern alliance.

Both sides of Korea have every right to be on edge but probably more so for the North, losing over two million people and most of the world against you, the biggest military constantly carrying out military drills by your borders, economic sanctions as tight as they can be with the only bigger step being a military attack.

The US is pretty much justifying the rhetoric coming from the North and the development of their long range missiles and nuclear weapons.

If the US backed down, there would be no justification for North Korea and its dictatorship to behave the way it is, meaning any retaliation to a North Korean military action would be wholly legitimate and accepted by all sane people of the world.

A fine example is today’s news where the US is flying nuclear capable B-52s around South Korea as part of joint military exercises amid the already extremely high tensions on the peninsula. It is like the US is deliberately trying to provoke a reaction from the North in a childish and pathetic attempt to to legitimise an invasion.

No to North Korean dictatorship and no to the US in North Korea. It is always the people who pay the ultimate price!

Daily Headline – 08/03/13

Korean peninsula on verge of war

The situation on the Korean peninsula is amazingly tense, further escalations have taken things to the verge of war.

All of the 15 UN security council members voted unanimously for tighter sanctions on North Korea (DPRK) (known as resolution 2094).

The 15 members of the UN security council consists of 5 permanent members and 10 other members who normally serve 1 year terms before being changed:

5 permanent members:
China
France
Russia
UK
US

10 current other members:
Azerbaijan
Argentina
Australia
Guatemala
Republic of Korea
Morocco
Pakistan
Luxembourg
Rwanda
Togo

In response to resolution 2094 North Korea has scrapped the ceasefire armistice agreement that was signed in 1953 by the UN, North Korea and China.

The North went on to say that it had the right to launch pre-emptive strikes following on from foreign aggression.

The scrapping of the armistice agreement leaves the Korean peninsula in a desperate situation and on the verge of war.

Daily Headline – 12/02/13

North Korea tests nuclear bomb

Working for the Advancement of North Korean Energy Research

North Korea tests a nuclear weapon, the US does nothing. Someone mentions in a pentagon corridor that Iraq might have WMD, the US invades.

What’s the difference?

The skeptic says: Iraq has oil
The realist says: Chinese soldiers will kill US soldiers (again)
The optimist says: The US is a peaceful nation

North Korea said it would test a small nuclear bomb after the UN added further sanctions and it did just that this morning (3am GMT).

The situation so far…

Dec-11 Kim Jong-un becomes the leader of DPRK
Dec-11 EU adds sanction against DPRK
Dec-12 DPRK successfully launches a space rocket carrying a satellite
Jan-13 US/UN increases sanctions against DPRK
Jan-13 ROK successfully launches a space rocket carrying a satellite
Feb-13 DPRK successfully carries out 3rd nuclear test

Following this mornings nuclear test the UN’s Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said it was a “clear and grave violation” of UN resolutions and that it was “deeply destabilising”.

The UN will meet at 2pm (GMT) to decide what action should be taken.

Daily Headline – 30/01/13

South Korea launches into space

South Korea has successfully launched it’s Naro-1 rocket into space for the first time, on board is a Science and Technology Satellite (STSAT 2C).

Previous attempts by South Korea in 2009 and 2010 both failed.

Last month North Korea launched their Unha-3 rocket into space which was followed by further UN sanctions.

Why is it that two nations who are technically still at war face a situation of complete double standards?
North Korea launches a space rocket, gets more UN sanctions, South Korea launches a space rocket, gets a pat on the back.

Whether we agree or not with North and/or South Korean politics and general way of doing things surely they must be treated in the same way considering their joint history and the fact that both sides over-step the cease fire agreement.

Daily Headline – 25/01/13

Tensions high on the Korean peninsula

Following on from North Korea’s successful satellite launch last month the UN has imposed more economic sanctions.

In response to this action North Korea have upped the ante by threatening to conduct more nuclear tests, targeted at the US.

The US and North Korea have major trust issues with each other and both are justified in this. North Korea is a family run dictatorship that has attacked South Korea before and the US is to date the only country that has used nuclear weapons killing almost 250,000 people, men, women and children. The US has also been to war with more countries that anyone else since the end of WW2.

So will the Korean War of 1950-53 (which has technically not ended) resume? Who will strike first? And which countries will get involved?

Of course North Korea and South Korea will fight each other but who else…
The US could see this very real nuclear threat as an opportunity to finish off the previous failed attempt to take over North Korea and remove its leadership while gaining the backing of the UN.
Japan, which is a big supporter of the US and vehemently anti-North Korea could be on hand to lend some support though their role may be limited to logistics.
In support of the North, last time around, China came to the rescue however China has also started to voice concerns about the North. While it’s possible that China could decide to remain neutral should war break out. I would say that it’s more likely that China will send in the troops again seeing that being given a choice between Kim Jong-un or the US on their border they will choose Kim Jong-un.
Last time around Russia lended some support to the North, mostly aerial, I think that this is less likely (but still possible of course). Things politically have changed in Russia since the early 50’s and support for the North seems to be over (at least compared to then).

Winners/losers/outcome

Well much like the last time it all depends on China, if China supports the North with military fire power and troops on the ground a win is possible for the North and Korea will once again be united. If China doesn’t get involved then a South Korean/US victory is certain and the country will also be united again.

Either way, just like the last time war broke out on the Korean peninsula, millions of people would be likely to lose their lives, mostly civilians.