North Korea

Trump To Urge UN: Impose North Korean Naval Blockade & Oil Embargo

September 10, 2017 Julian Borger, www.theguardian.com Educate! Embargo, North Korea, Wars and Militarism

By Julian Borger for the Guardian. The US will embark on an aggressive effort to tighten North Korea’s isolation on Monday with a call for an oil embargo and a partial naval blockade. A draft United Nations resolution seen by the Observer would also block textile exports and the hiring of North Korean labour by foreign countries. The American delegation has called for the UN security council to debate the draft, in an attempt to force decisive action following last Sunday’s massive nuclear test of a bomb, Pyongyang’s sixth. The most striking language in the resolution authorises naval vessels of any UN member state to inspect North Korean ships suspected of carrying banned cargo and to use “all necessary measures to carry out such inspections”. The implications of such a resolution would be far-reaching. Any attempt to board or divert a North Korean vessel could trigger an exchange of fire. As well as banning any exports of “crude oil, condensates, refined petroleum products, and natural gas liquids” to North Korea, the draft resolution calls for a prohibition on the import of textiles and an end to the hiring of North Korean nationals, on the grounds that the regime uses the foreign currency earned “to support its prohibited nuclear and ballistic missile programmes”.

Black Alliance For Peace Demands U.S. Aggression Against North Korea Cease

September 8, 2017 Ajamu Baraka, www.blackallianceforpeace.com Resist! Anti-War, North Korea, US Imperialism

By Ajamu Baraka for BAP - September 5, 2017—The Black Alliance for Peace is resolute in its opposition to United States-led imperialism, no matter which nations may be among the targets. We contend no justification exists for U.S. government interference in the affairs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), better known as North Korea. President Donald Trump differs from his predecessors only with his intemperate language, threatening “fire and fury” and asserting that the U.S. military is “locked and loaded.” The corporate media may lampoon his choice of words, but they do not oppose the premise that this country has the right to tell North Korea and every other sovereign nation what it can and cannot do. Like the United States, North Korea has the right to test and develop as many weapons as it chooses. North Korea does not need another country’s permission to enhance its arsenal. Given the United States’ history of aggression, it would appear wise to do so. Any country deemed an enemy of the United States that does not have a strong defense is in danger of ending up like Iraq or Libya—invaded or destroyed by other means. The U.S. military is the greatest threat to world peace. With more weapons—nuclear and conventional—than any other nation in the world, the United States is armed with the capacity for complete global destruction multiple times over.

Begging For War: The Poor Understanding Of US & North Korea

September 8, 2017 Vijay Prashad, www.alternet.org Educate! North Korea, US Imperialism, Wars and Militarism

By Vijay Prashad for AlterNet - US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the Security Council that North Korea was ‘begging for war.’ She said this in reference to the test of a thermonuclear – hydrogen – bomb by the North Korean military. ‘Enough is enough,’ said Ambassador Haley. ‘We have taken an incremental approach, and despite the best of intentions, it has not worked.’ Ambassador Haley made these comments at the UN Security Council, where there are five permanent members and ten rotating members. These five permanents members (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States) are all nuclear weapon powers. They are not on the Council permanently (with veto power) because they have nuclear weapons. There are declared nuclear weapon states (India, Israel and Pakistan) that do not have a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. It is an accident of history that gives these five countries the right to be the judges of the planet. Each of these five permanent members of the UN Security Council is already in possession of a thermonuclear bomb. The United States tested its hydrogen bomb in 1952; the Soviets followed the next year. The British tested their bomb in 1958, with the Chinese following in 1967 and the French in 1968.

Need For Diplomacy More Clear Than Ever After North Korea Claims H-Bomb Test

September 4, 2017 Andrea Germanos, www.commondreams.org Strategize! Foreign Relations, North Korea, Nuclear Weapons

By Andrea Germanos for Common Dreams - Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, meanwhile, said that he was drafting new sanctions to place on North Korea in response to the test. "It's clear this behavior is completely unacceptable," Mnuchin said on "Fox News Sunday." Yukiya Amano, head of the U.N. nuclear agency, said the test was "an extremely regrettable act," and called on North Korea "to fully implement all relevant resolutions of the U.N. Security Council and the IAEA," which include stopping further nuclear tests. Among those appealing for calm was Russia, declaring diplomacy "the only possible way" to resolve the conflict. The foreign ministry in Moscow said the test merited "the strongest condemnation," and warned that "the continuation of such a line is fraught with serious consequences" for Pyongyang. "In the unfolding conditions," the ministry statement added, it is imperative to remain calm and to refrain from any actions that lead to a further escalation of tension." "We call on all interested parties to immediately return to dialogue and negotiations as the only possible way for an overall settlement of the problems of the Korean peninsula," it said.

U.S. Flies Bombers, Fighters In Show Of Force Against North Korea

September 1, 2017 Kim Tong-Hyung, www.japantoday.com Educate! North Korea, US Imperialism, US military

By Kim Tong-Hyung for AP - The United States flew some of its most advanced warplanes in bombing drills with ally South Korea on Thursday, a clear warning after North Korea launched a midrange ballistic missile designed to carry nuclear bombs over Japan earlier this week, the U.S. and South Korean militaries said. North Korea hates such displays of U.S. military might at close range and will likely respond with fury. Two U.S. B-1B supersonic bombers and four F-35B stealth fighter jets joined four South Korean F-15 fighters in live-fire exercises at a military field in eastern South Korea that simulated precision strikes against the North's "core facilities," according to the U.S. Pacific Command and South Korea's Defense Ministry. The B-1Bs were flown in from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam while the F-35Bs came from a U.S. base in Iwakuni, Japan. The North, which claims Washington has long threatened Pyongyang by flaunting the powerful U.S. nuclear arsenal, describes the long-range B-1Bs as "nuclear strategic bombers" although the United States no longer arms them with nuclear weapons. A strong North Korean reaction to the drills is almost certain. The dueling military displays open up the risk that things will get worse as each side seeks to show it won't be intimidated.

Can US And North Korea Move From Threats To Negotiations?

August 28, 2017 Gareth Porter, www.truth-out.org Educate! Foreign Relations, North Korea, US Imperialism

By Gareth Porter for Truthout - For months, the Trump administration and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have each made a series of moves that have appeared to take them ever closer to the brink of war. But a closer review of the escalation of the conflict reveals that both sides are consciously maneuvering for what they know will be extended serious negotiations on a new framework for peace on the Korean peninsula. The Trump administration is well aware that it has no real military option against the North, and the Kim Jong-un regime seems to have sought to use missile launches as signals to the Trump administration to convey not only North Korea's determination not to give in to pressure, but also its hopes to stabilize the situation and avoid further escalation in US-North Korea military relations. The latest US-North Korean crisis revolves around the Trump administration's public refusal to accept North Korea's nuclear weapons and long-range missile program, and Trump's flirtation with options for removing it that would certainly result in a highly destructive and destabilizing Korean War.

United States Criticized for Ongoing Korea War Games

August 27, 2017 Staff, www.aljazeera.com Resist! Korea, Militarism and War, North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, South Korea

By Staff for Al Jazeera. US and South Korean troops have begun annual military drills amid heated warnings by North Korea that the exercises will worsen tensions in the region. The Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills, which began on Monday, are largely computer-simulated war games. The exercise brings together as many as 50,000 South Korean soldiers and approximately 17,500 US service members for a simulation of war on the Korean Peninsula. South Korea's President Moon Jae-in said the drills are defensive in nature. He said the exercises are held regularly because of repeated provocations by North Korea, including two intercontinental ballistic missile tests last month. Pyongyang called the 11-day operation a "reckless" invasion rehearsal that could trigger an "uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war". China and Russia last week urged the United States to suspend the drills in exchange for North Korea suspending its missile and nuclear tests.

Why US-South Korea Military Drill Could Provoke North Korea’s Ire

August 22, 2017 James Law, www.news.com.au Educate! Military, North Korea, US Foreign Policy, US Imperialism

By James Law for News - THE US and South Korea will join forces on Monday for a provocative 10-day military drill, which North Korea says could lead to “nuclear war”. While Kim Jong-un appeared to back off on his threat to attack Guam yesterday, the North Korean leader has made it clear that the military exercise could raise his ire again. The joint military drill, known as Ulchi-Freedom Guardian, happens every year, but it has antagonised the North more than usual given the heightened tensions between Pyongyang and Washington. The North sees the massive land, air and sea war games as a provocation, because it believes it is a way for the South to prepare for an invasion. Washington and Seoul, which will each deploy tens of thousands of troops for the exercise, maintain the exercise is defensive and a response to North Korea aggression. Past drills are believed to have included simulated “decapitation strikes”, which see soldiers carry out trial operations to kill Kim Jong-un and his top generals.

Activists Blockade Nuclear Base, Plead To De-escalate Crisis With North Korea

August 16, 2017 Leonard Eiger, www.popularresistance.org Resist! North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, Peace, Wars and Militarism

By Leonard Eiger for Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action. Washington State - Activists blockaded the West Coast nuclear submarine base that would likely carry out a nuclear strike against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) should President Donald Trump give the order. Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, just 20 miles from Seattle, is home to the largest concentration of deployed nuclear weapons in the US. More than 1,300 nuclear warheads are deployed on Trident D-5 missiles on the eight ballistic missile submarines based at Bangor or stored at Strategic Weapons Facility Pacific (SWFPAC) at the Bangor base. Activists with Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action held a vigil and nonviolent direct action at the Bangor base on August 14...

China Tells US, North Korea To ‘Hit The Brakes’ On Threats

August 16, 2017 Christopher Bodeen, www.apnews.com Create! China, Imperialism, Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, North Korea, United States

By Christopher Bodeen for AP News - BEIJING (AP) — China is telling the U.S. and North Korea to “hit the brakes” on threatening words and actions and work toward a peaceful resolution of their dispute, in a sign of growing concern over the standoff on the part of Pyongyang’s only major ally. Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, that the two countries should work together to contain tensions and permit no one to “stir up an incident on their doorstep,” according to a statement posted on the Chinese foreign ministry’s website. “The most important task at hand is for the U.S. and North Korea to ‘hit the brakes’ on their mutual needling of each other with words and actions, to lower the temperature of the tense situation and prevent the emergence of an ‘August crisis,’” Wang was quoted as saying in the Tuesday conversation. The ministry quoted Lavrov as saying tensions could rise again with the U.S. and South Korea set to launch large-scale military exercises on Aug. 21. “A resolution of the North Korea nuclear issue by military force is completely unacceptable and the peninsula’s nuclear issue must be peacefully resolved by political and diplomatic methods,” Lavrov was quoted as saying.

Actions: No Nuclear War On North Korea

August 13, 2017 UNAC, www.nepajac.org Resist! North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, Trump, Wars and Militarism

United National Antiwar Coalition. Today, the US maintains a force of tens of thousands of troops in South Korea; it has installed Thaad missiles and conducts joint nuclear-armed military exercises in the region twice a year. The DPRK justly sees these as practice for a U.S. invasion. As in Vietnam, where the ten-year U.S. war cost the lives of four million Vietnamese, the U.S. is today threatening yet another genocidal war, this time against North Korea, a nation that has never invaded another country. The United National Antiwar Coalition stands opposed to all U.S. wars and threats of war. We call upon all peace and social justice groups to organize emergency actions against the U.S. war drive. Please see a list of actions being organized and add your own action by going here: http://nepajac.org/koreaevents.htm.

North Korea: Fire, Fury And Fear

August 12, 2017 Pepe Escobar, www.counterpunch.org Educate! Imperialism, Korea, North Korea, Wars and Militarism

By Pepe Escobar for Counter Punch - Beware the dogs of war. The same intel “folks” who brought to you babies pulled from incubators by “evil” Iraqis as well as non-existent WMDs are now peddling the notion that North Korea has produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead able to fit its recently tested ICBM. That’s the core of an analysis completed in July by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). Additionally, US intel believes that Pyongyang now has access to up to 60 nuclear weapons. On the ground US intel on North Korea is virtually non-existent – so these assessments amount to guesswork at best. But when we couple the guesswork with an annual 500-page white paper released earlier this week by the Japanese Defense Ministry, alarm bells do start ringing. The white paper stresses Pyongyang’s “significant headway” in the nuclear race and its “possible” (italics mine) ability to develop miniaturized nuclear warheads able to fit on the tips of its missiles. This “possible” ability is drowned in outright speculation. As the report states, “It is conceivable that North Korea’s nuclear weapons program has already considerably advanced and it is possible that North Korea has already achieved the miniaturization of nuclear bombs into warheads and has acquired nuclear warheads.”

Nuclear War Protest At White House

August 10, 2017 Global Zero, www.popularresistance.org Resist! North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, Trump, Wars and Militarism

By Global Zero. Washington, DC - On Wednesday night groups including Global Zero, MoveOn.org, Win Without War, Ultraviolet, and CODEPINK: Women For Peace protested in front of the White House to stand against nuclear war. Over the last 24 hours the situation with North Korea has erupted into a full-blown crisis. In response to reports about Kim Jong-un’s new nuclear capabilities, Trump promised to meet another threat with “fire and fury like the world has never seen.” Right now two inexperienced egomaniacs are facing off with nuclear weapons. Experts are calling this the Cuban Missile Crisis of our time.

Urge Senators: End Sanctions, Negotiate Peace With North Korea

July 23, 2017 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, www.popularresistance.org Petitions and Online Actions North Korea, Sanctions, Wars and Militarism, weapons

By Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese. On July 12, 2017, Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) introduced legislation, called the BRINK Act, to increase sanctions against North Korea (DPRK). This time they are targeting banks and companies that do business with North Korea, including businesses in China. The sanctions are in response to unproven allegations that North Korea has the capability of reaching the United States with a missile. In fact, Russia sent information to the United Nations after North Korea tested a missile on July 4, 2017, showing that it was a mid-range, and not an inter-continental, missile. Sanctions will escalate tension with North Korea, as well as China and China’s close ally, Russia. Rather than punishment and threats, which have created insecurity that has predictably led to North Korea building weapons to protect itself, US policy should be seeking de-escalation, reduction of tensions and stability in the region.

North And South Korea Want A Peace Treaty: US Must Join

July 22, 2017 Christine Ahn, www.truth-out.org Create! Korea, North Korea, Peace, South Korea

By Christine Ahn for Truthout - Two years ago, I crossed the world's most fortified border from North to South Korea with 30 women peacemakers from 15 countries, calling for a peace treaty to end the six-decade Korean War. On July 13, I was denied entry into South Korea from the United States as retribution for my peace activism, including the 2015 women's peace march. As I checked in for my Asiana Airlines flight to Shanghai at San Francisco International Airport, the ticket agent at the counter informed me that I would not be boarding the plane headed first to Seoul Incheon International. The supervisor handed me back my passport and informed me that she had just gotten off the phone with a South Korean government official who had told her I was "denied entry" into the country. "This must be a mistake," I said. "Is South Korea really going to ban me because I organized a women's peace walk across the demilitarized zone?" I asked, appealing to her conscience. If there was indeed a travel ban, I thought, it must have been put in place by the disgraced President Park. But she wouldn't make eye contact with me. She walked away and said there was nothing to be done. I would need to apply for a visa and book a new flight to Shanghai.

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