the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Mar 4, 2019
Donald Trump apparently came away with no diplomatic breakthrough after his second summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un. Trump made it sound like Kim wanted the moon–the lifting of all sanctions, in exchange for a little bit of movement on North Korea’s part toward de-nuclearization, as if it is North Korea that is the aggressor.
In reality, it’s always been the other way around, ever since the Korean War. The U.S. fought that war, as well as the Vietnam War, to impose its domination on Asia at a time of nationalist revolts and revolutions after World War II. Nothing less than complete, abject defeat of the North Korean population would do.
Few people know that in the Korean War, 1950-1953, the U.S. dropped more bombs on Korea–North and South–than in all of the Pacific Theater during World War II. Millions of Korean people died, and every city on the peninsula, North and South, was burned to the ground.
Almost seven decades later, the U.S. has never agreed to declare the war ended–the Korean peninsula has remained divided. The continuing war-like stance by U.S. imperialism has allowed North Korean dictators to appear as protectors of the population against attack by the U.S. and its continued aggressive maneuvers.
In fact, it is the U.S. government that has 28,500 troops stationed on North Korea’s borders. With fleets sailing waters just offshore, missiles are poised to bring “fire and fury” to millions of people.
This large U.S. military presence is not just aimed at North Korea, but its main protector, China, not to speak of Russia. The continuing U.S. tensions with North Korea are a convenient excuse for the U.S. to keep its bases and military in the region.
Trump and his advisors are continuing the longtime position of U.S. imperialism toward North Korea: “Cede to our demands or endure the sanctions strangling your economy and your people.” The only difference this time is that Trump seems to have pretended that his personal charm toward Kim would allow him to declare some kind of diplomatic breakthrough–even the Nobel Peace Prize!