Skip to content

North Korea

US Ambassador Says ‘Too early’ To End The Korean War, Moon-Kim To Meet Again

The two Koreas also restored their military communication line on August 15 to ease military tension. On the same day as the announcement of the inter-Korean summit, U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris commented that it is “too early” to move toward the declaration of a formal end to the Korean War. “With regard to the end of war declaration, I think it’s in the early days. Yet, it’s too early for that even as we seek improvement in relations between the North and the South and between the North and the United States,” he said in a question-and-answer session after a lecture on the South Korea-U.S. alliance in Seoul.

Two Koreas Agree On 3rd Moon-Kim Summit To Be Held In September

Leaders of the two Koreas will have their third summit in North Korea's capital next month, representatives of the two countries said in a joint press statement Monday. "South Korea and North Korea agreed to hold the summit in September in Pyongyang," the statement said, although the exact date was not mentioned. The agreement was made during a ministerial-level meeting at the request of North Korea held on the North's side of Panmunjeom within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). "During the meeting, the two Koreas discussed issues that need to be actively dealt with. They also talked on how to implement follow-up measures to the Panmunjeom Declaration," said the statement. In a media briefing, Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, who led the South's delegation, said the North reaffirmed its commitment for permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula and explained its denuclearization measures.

Travel Ban And Sanctions Obstruct Humanitarian Efforts In North Korea

Within moments of returning from his summit with Kim Jong Un, President Trump struck a triumphant tone, buoyantly tweeting, “There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea … North Korea has great potential for the future!” But just nine days later he extended an existing executive order “Notice Regarding the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to North Korea” declaring, “North Korea continue[s] to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.” Meanwhile, sanctions imposed by the US, United Nations (UN), European Union and other international entities continue to make life hard for ordinary North Koreans, with no sign of relief in sight.

CIA Teams Up With Defense Industry To Undermine Korea Negotiations

In a new development that will shock no one, factions within the CIA attempted for the second time in just over a month to undermine President Donald Trump’s peace overtures towards North Korea by leaking information calculated to decrease confidence in Kim Jong Un’s willingness to earnestly negotiate. On June 29, 2018, NBC News released a report quoting anonymous CIA officials who claimed that North Korea was increasing nuclear production at “secret sites” without providing any actual evidence for such claims. The report’s credibility is further weakened by the fact that it also cited reports from a think tank which has strong connections to the defense industry and other private special interests. In disseminating their report, the CIA used NBC reporter Ken Dilanian as an outlet for leaks. As Disobedient Media previously reported, Dilanian was outed by the Intercept in 2014 as a CIA asset.

“Officials” Attempt To Sabotage Further North Korea Talks

The result of the Trump-Kim summit in Singapore was a "freeze for freeze" deal. North Korea stopped its nuclear and missile testing while the U.S. stopped the large maneuvers it regularity held with South Korea's army. Both sides agreed to further talks. North Korea made some aspirational statements about denuclearization which have the same time frame as similar aspirational statements made by the U.S. in Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). There is no time frame to reach a certain state. There is no commitment towards declaring nuclear sites nor is there a commitment to stop the production of nuclear stuff. Trump declaration that there is "no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea" is correct in the sense that there is certainly no North Korean intent to launch a nuclear attack.

From G7 To Shanghai Summit, U.S. Swagger Falls Flat

The response to President Donald Trump’s arrogant withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and wild threats of tariffs on U.S. allies has exposed declining U.S. influence on a global scale. This became all too obvious at the gathering in Quebec, Canada, of the G7 summit of the seven major imperialist powers — United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. With the exception of Japan, the other six countries are also leading members of the U.S.-commanded NATO military alliance. Washington is increasingly unable to control the global agenda. U.S. corporate power finds it can no longer order the nations of the world to isolate the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea or Iran. The U.S. has less to offer except threats of military destruction, unpayable debt and broken agreements.

What’s Driving The Peace Process In Korea?

One very important aspect is the stance of the South Korean (ROK) government. President Moon Jae-in came to power last year on the basis of a campaign promising, among other things, a serious bid to improve relations with the DPRK. Moon, a former student activist and human rights lawyer, represents the most progressive wing of mainstream South Korean politics (admittedly this is not saying much) and was mentored by Kim Dae-jung, author of the 'Sunshine Policy,' which aimed to build understanding and de-escalate tensions with the DPRK. While essentially pro-United States, Moon is on record as saying that "South Korea should adopt diplomacy in which it can discuss a U.S. request and say no to the Americans."

North Korea Has the Upper Hand In Negotiations With Trump

North Korea, backed by China, has written the timetable for these negotiations. A year ago, it appeared as if North Korea’s missile and nuclear tests would egg the Trump administration into a dangerous military confrontation. Trump even threatened to devastate the peninsula. But he did not have an ally in the newly elected South Korean leader—Moon Jae-in—who came to power when the conservatives floundered in corruption scandals. Moon, a calm and sincere person, held fast to his commitments to peace despite the North Korean missile and nuclear tests and the belligerence of the Trump administration. Out of nowhere, it seemed, Kim inaugurated the “Olympics diplomacy.” It is what drew the two Koreas together and outflanked the United States. Trump now had to follow the tune being hummed by Moon and Kim.

A Blow To Interventionists, As US And North Korea Move Toward Peace

Critics and pundits have been reacting dismissively to President Donald Trump’s engagement with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. A few weeks ago Donald Trump was going to start World War III with the Korean peninsula’s “Rocket Man,” or so observers said. Now, the prospect for peace, which has never been formally codified by treaty with North Korea since 1953, seems to have critics equally vexed and upset. Yet, hoping for peace to fail in order to prevent Trump from gaining a victory is to engage in precisely the type of behavior his critics accuse him of displaying.

The Chomsky Challenge For People In The United States

It’s no wonder that most Americans are clueless about why “their” country is feared and hated the world over. It remains unthinkable to this day, for example, that any respectable “mainstream” U.S. media outlet would tell the truth about why the United States atom-bombed the civilian populations of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As Gar Alperovitz and other historians have shown, Washington knew that Japan was defeated and ready to surrender at the end of World War II. The ghastly atomic attacks were meant to send a signal to Soviet Russia about the post-WWII world: “We run the world.

Veterans Applaud Progress For Peace In North Korea

Veterans For Peace congratulates the Korean people, who cried out for peace and unity, and we applaud their leaders, who listened and acted courageously.  The joint statement from the historic summit between President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un is a hopeful departure from hostile relations between the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).  Just months ago, the two leaders were threatening nuclear war. The world can breathe much easier today.

North Korea Issue is Not De-Nuclearization But De-Colonization

The critics had already signaled their strategy for derailing any meaningful move toward normalizing relations between the United States and North Korea. Right-wing neoliberals from CNN, MSNBC and NPR are in perfect alignment with the talking points issued by U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and the Democrat Party that took the position that anything short of the North Koreans surrendering their national interests and national dignity to the United States was a win for North Korea. For much of the foreign policy community, corporate media pundits and leaders of the two imperialist parties, the issue is North Korean de-nuclearization. But for the people in Korea and throughout the global South, the real issue has always been the unfinished business of ending the war and beginning the de-colonization of the Korean peninsula.

Pentagon Ignoring Trump Decision To End North Korean

“We will maintain the fighting readiness of our forces,” said one official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the policy is still being refined. But several sources said training would continue without the high-profile "in-your-face” named exercises that are regularly announced and given aggressive code names such as Max Thunder and Key Resolve. "The Department of Defense welcomes the positive news coming out of the summit and fully supports the ongoing, diplomatically-led efforts with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," said a statement from chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana White. "Our alliances remain ironclad, and ensure peace and stability in the region. The Presidential summit outcome is the first step along the path to the goal: complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and a free and open Indo-Pacific." In making the surprise announcement in Singapore, Trump said “war games” with the South would end “unless and until we see the future negotiation is not going along like it should.” The Pentagon confirmed that the next major military exercise — Ulchi Freedom Guardian — is scheduled for the fall. A spokesman said no new guidance has gone out to commanders in the field because there are still many questions on how the president’s commitment will be implemented.

The North Korea Summit Through The Looking Glass

On Tuesday, as Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un shook hands for their much-anticipated summit in Singapore, one Korean reporter observed a curious episode. Koreans watching the scene unfold on a TV screen at a railway station in Seoul began applauding. Meanwhile, some nearby Western tourists, perturbed by this development, scratched their heads in confusion. “I am actually baffled to see them clapping here,” said one British tourist. There’s perhaps no better symbol of the gulf in worldwide reactions to the summit than this episode.

Democrat’s Position On North Korea Shows They Are A War Party

If more proof was needed to persuade anyone that the Democrats are indeed a war party, it was provided when Senator Chuck Schumer and other Democrat leaders in the Senate engaged in a cynical stunt to stake out a position to the right of John Bolton on the summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un. The Democrats asserted that the planned summit could only be judged successful if the North Koreans agreed to dismantle and remove all their nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, end all production and enrichment of uranium, dismantle its nuclear weapons infrastructure, and suspend ballistic missile tests. Those demands would constitute an unconditional surrender on the part of the North Korean leadership and will not happen, and the Democrats know it.

Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

Online donations are back! Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

Online donations are back! 

Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

Sign Up To Our Daily Digest

Independent media outlets are being suppressed and dropped by corporations like Google, Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for our daily email digest before it’s too late so you don’t miss the latest movement news.