Twenty five years after the United States launched its first great anti-communist war on June 25, 1950, storm clouds are gathering in Korea once more. The situation in Korea is very tense and the danger of war is increasing. Ever since the defeat of US imperialism in Indochina, both Ford and Kissinger have been publically avowing their "commitments" to the fascist dictatorship in south Korea and US clients in the Middle East.

American military and foreign affairs experts have claimed recently that they expect a new Korean war to break out in September this year. State department and Pentagon officials have indicated that any sign of popular revolt in south Korea will be looked upon as "an act of aggression" from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). The 1953 defence treaty between the United States and south Korea will be used to send the 42,000 nuclear-armed US troops into action against the masses in the south and the north will be invaded.

The U.S. propaganda machine, with "Time and 'Newsweek" in the van, is churning out its usual lies about an imminent invasion of the south to trick the people into supporting U.S. aggression. Its Indochina all over again.

We are being told that the economy of socialist north Korea is about to collapse under a huge weight of foreign debt and that President Kim II Sung is a madman fully prepared to destroy his country. In contrast south Korea is allegedly bounding ahead economically.

Policy of re-unification

Nothing could be further from the truth. The DPRK has repeatedly pointed out that its policy is to achieve reunification of Korea independently and peacefully, not through war or reliance on outside forces. In recent weeks President Kim 11 Sung, who rarely travels abroad, has visited several countries to develop international opinion against the new military adventures plotted by Washington. From mid-April to mid-June, Kim visited China, Romania, Algeria, Mauritania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia.

In addition the Korean leader strived to build support for ending the United Nations command in Korea. Under the flag of the U.N., the United States occupies south Korea and constitutes a grave threat to peace. Kim also built support for his policy of peaceful reunification of Korea and advanced the views of the Korean Worker's Party on Third World Unity, non-alignment and national independence.

The United States is menacing the Korean people for three reasons. First, Washington wants to dispel any image that it cannot act decisively to prop up its puppets following its heavy defeat in Indochina. Second, the U.S. is warning the south Korean people that it is willing to intervene to keep the Pak regime in power should the national liberation movement threaten it. "Aggression from the north" is the U.S. cover for its actions, just as it was in Vietnam. Third, the U.S. is trying to keep the label "aggressor" on the DPRK so as to prevent the U.N. cover being stripped from its troops in the south.

South in crisis

Despite claims to the contrary, south Korea s economy is going from bad to worse because of its dependence on foreign capital. Inflation is roaring ahead, foreign debts are rising, farm production is declining and small and medium-sized businesses are closing down increasing the huge pool of unemployed.

By the end of June 1974, foreign capital brought in by the Pak regime had exceeded 6,800 million U.S. dollars. Foreign capital now controls south Korea's major industries, including iron and steel, oil, cement, machine building, electric power, textiles and plywood.

The foreign trade deficit in the first four months of this year was a huge 1,080 million US dollars. South Korea's foreign debts totalled 7,650 million US dollars at the end of 1974.

Inflation

The average south Korean worker begins on $US45 a month for 10 hour day, six day week. Inflation is pushing up prices of all necessities. Rice was up 54% in February compared with a year ago, while other necessities were up 35% to 60%. In Seoul and other cities, rice in 1974 was three times what it was at the end of 1973. South Korea is only 70% self-sufficient in food.

About 80% of all peasant households are short of food. In Seoul alone 47% of the population of almost 2 million is homeless or without a home of their own, in a country where shacks and dilapidated huts are "homes".

The Democratic People s Republic of Korea founded on September 6, 1948, took the socialist road of development. It has made rapid progress in industry, agriculture, and health, science and technology, art and literature, and international relations, becoming an important part of the Third World and the front opposing US imperialism and Japanese militarism in the Far East. For the last ten years industrial production has grown at almost 13% per annum Grain output has grown twice as fast as the population since 1948. In April 1974 sweeping price reductions averaging 30% were made in consumer goods and income tax was abolished.

Five Point Proposal

The root cause of increasing tension in Korea is the occupation of south Korea by US imperialist troops and US interference in Korea's internal affairs. Just as with Thieu and Lon Nol, Pak would not last a day without US bayonets The maintenance and consolidation of peace in Korea and the peaceful reunification of the country demands the immediate withdrawal of all US troops.

Following Japan's defeat in the Second World War, the Russians advanced to the 38th Parallel, while the United States forces occupied Korea south of that line. Despite movements throughout Korea to reunify the whole country the United States installed the Syngman Ree dictatorship in Seoul in 1948. The DPRK never acknowledged the division of Korea — it claimed to (and did) represent all Korea.

These propositions reflect the basic national aspirations of the whole Korean people, north and south of the demilitarized zone But the United States and its puppet Pak Jung Hi have consistently refused to meet these reasonable proposals. Instead they have deepened the repression in the south.

The Marxist-Leninist Party in south Korea the Revolutionary Party for Reunification has put forward a programme of overthrowing the colonial rule of the U.S. imperialism, the formation of a people's government, the realisation of democratic reforms in south Korean society and the peaceful reunification of Korea. This programme is similar to that of the National Front for Liberation of South Vietnam — a programme which brought a crushing victory over the United States for the Vietnamese people.

The poverty and oppression of the south Korean people are producing a surging movement for national liberation. It is mobilising all sectors of south Korean society — workers, peasants, intellectuals, small and medium businessmen, religious leaders, democrats, etc. — against the Pak regime.

Because Korea has been one country for about 1,000 years it is the bounden duty of the people in north Korea to help their southern brothers and sisters. During his recent tours abroad, President Kim II Sung has pledged DPRK support for the southern liberation movement. In China, he declared: "If revolution takes place in south Korea, we, as one and the same nation, will not just look at it with folded arms but will strongly support the Korean people. If the enemy ignites war recklessly we shall resolutely answer it with war and completely destroy the aggressors. In this war we will only lose the Military Demarcation Line and will gain the country's unification."

Once again the Korean people can rely on the People's Republic of China to support them to the hilt in their anti-imperialist struggle. In recent weeks the Chinese have repeatedly reaffirmed their support for the Korean people's struggle for the independent and peaceful reunification of their country. China has called for the dissolution of the U.N. command and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from south Korea.

During the Korean war, New Zealand played a dishonourable role of subservience to U.S. aggression, just as it did in Indochina. All progressive people in New Zealand who opposed U.S. aggression in Indochina will undoubtedly extend their aid and support to the Korean people should the United States unleash war in the Korean peninsula.