top
International
International
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature

Beating Up on North Korea

by Stephen Lendman
anti-war
Beating Up on North Korea

by Stephen Lendman

On February 11, Pyongyang informed Washington and China of its intentions. February 12 headlines explained.

They said North Korea conducted its third nuclear test. Russia's Defense Ministry estimated a blast exceeding seven kilotons.

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) measured the yield at twice North Korea's 2009 test.

Condemnation followed. New sanctions were threatened. More on that below.

Pyongyang's KCNA news service announced the test. It said it used a "miniatured, lighter nuclear device with greater explosive force than previously." It claimed the test "did not pose any negative impact on the surrounding environment."

In response to Western hostility, unspecified "second and third measures" may follow. North Korean diplomat Jon Yong Ryong said  his country "will never bow down to any resolution."

Atmospheric tests reflect madness. Underground effects depend on depth and explosive yield. Little information on North Korea's is available. Satellite images and spy planes detected radiation fallout.

Nuclear power and testing in all forms are dangerous. It's not the answer, says Helen Caldicott. Escaping its harmful effects is impossible.

Commercial and military use discharge hundreds of thousands of deadly radioactive gas curies and other radioactive elements into the environment annually.

Doing so poses enormous health risks. Payback's in the form of epidemic cancer levels.

Public health expert Samuel Epstein explained. The verdict on decades of nuclear power use is in, he says. It "causes cancer." Claiming otherwise is willful deception.

Washington targets North Korea for geopolitical reasons. Enemies are needed. When none exist they're created. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is Exhibit A.

America's been at war with North Korea since June 1950. Truman's war never ended. An uneasy armistice exists. It's unprecedented in length. Nothing in sight suggests an end game. Maybe another hot war looms.

Provocations may precede one if Washington prioritizes it. North Korea wants confrontation avoided at all costs. It wants peace and normalized relations. It wants its sovereignty respected. It has every right to insist.

China’s America top rival. North Korea’s a convenient punching bag. Fearmongering facilitates America's imperium. It advances it by creating enemies. Conflicts follow.

Beating up on North Korea is policy. George Bush included Pyongyang in his "axis of evil." Obama exceeds the worst of his agenda. It's hard knowing what may follow.

Threatening North Korea continues ad nauseam. Last April, its satellite launching effort failed. Washington and other Western states rebuked Pyongyang for trying.

On January 30, South Korea successfully placed its own satellite in orbit. Washington provided support. Condemnation didn't follow.

Double standard duplicity defines US policy. Western partners, Israel, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon share guilt.

North Korea is the only nation to be sanctioned for trying to launch a satellite. Virtually all countries use them for communications, weather forecasting, navigation, resource management, and other non-military purposes.

Numerous nations launch and operate them. They include America, Israel, Russia, China, the European Space Agency (ESA’s 18 members), India, Japan, and Iran.

A US/Russia/Ukraine/Norway Sea Launch consortium launches satellites from international waters. They do so annually. In June 2009, its provider, Sea Launch Co. LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Effective October 27, 2010, it emerged successfully. Russia's Energia Overseas Ltd is majority owner of the reorganized enterprise.

International cooperation defines NASA's program. America's 1958 National Aeronautical and Space Act encourages it.

A 2008 NASA Office of International and Interagency Relations report titled Global Reach: A View of NASA's International Cooperation says the Agency signed 4,000 international agreements to that time.

Building the International Space Station is its most far-reaching project. America, Russia, Japan, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and seven other ESA members are involved.

The 1967 Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (the Outer Space Treaty) calls space "the province of all mankind."

"Outer space….shall be free for exploration and use by all States without discrimination of any kind," it says.

Pyongyang's Unha-3 missile can’t deliver a nuclear warhead. It's a satellite launcher, not a weapon. Operating it is entirely legitimate. Media scoundrels don't explain. Irresponsible accusations substitute.

Washington leveled plenty of its own. Israel, India and Pakistan are nuclear outlaws. They're heavily armed and dangerous. Their arsenals and tests violate NPT provisions. Accusations and sanctions don't follow. US ties provide cover.

North Korea alone is censured. The Security Council did so. Violating resolutions 1718 and 1874 were cited. They imposed harsh economic and commercial sanctions.

They did so more for geopolitical than nuclear reasons. Preventing nuclear proliferation was claimed. Threatening peace and security was cited.

No country threatens world peace more than America. It prioritizes preemptive first-strike nuclear attacks. It maintains a unilateral right to do so against nonbelligerent/nuclear or non-nuclear states.

It wages multiple direct and proxy wars. It menaces humanity in the process. North Korea is a target of choice. Conflict so far hasn't followed.

Multiple rounds of sanctions imposed degrees of hardship. An arms embargo prohibits weapons imports. Nuclear and missile technology are banned. Blacklisting affects hundreds of individuals, companies and government agencies.

Blanket trade restrictions aren’t imposed. At the same time, trading with North Korea isn't easy. International lending agencies won't help. Credit isn't extended to do so.

Importing North Korean goods requires special Treasury Department license permission. American/North Korean trade is miniscule.

Total 2012 US exports were less than $12 million. In contrast, South Korea was sold nearly $39 billion worth of goods and services last year.

Following Pyongyang's December rocket launch, Security Council Resolution 2087 tightened sanctions. Asset freezes and travel bans were imposed.

Washington and South Korea plan additional bilateral sanctions. Other countries will be pressured to go along. Pyongyang manages best it can. It's held its own for decades. It resists imperial bullying. It has every right to do so.

After the latest sanctions were imposed, its Foreign Ministry said it "flatly rejects the unjust acts of the UNSC aimed at wantonly violating the sovereignty of the DPRK and depriving it of the right to launch satellites for peaceful purposes."

"The hostile forces are seriously mistaken if they think they can bring down the DPRK with sanctions and pressure."

The "DPRK will continue to exercise its independent and legitimate right to launch satellites for peaceful purposes while abiding by the universally recognized international law on the use of space for peaceful purposes."

It "will continuously launch satellites for peaceful purposes." It has every right to do so. It added that "the prospect for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula has become gloomier."

Washington bears full responsibility. Obama prioritizes conflict and instability. Peace is a non-starter. Pyongyang has no other choice.

It "will take steps for physical counteraction to bolster the military capabilities for self-defense, including nuclear deterrence….to cope with the evermore undisguised moves of the US to apply sanctions and apply pressure against the DPRK."

It prioritizes peace and normalized relations. Denuclearization talks depend on Washington and other Western countries agreeing.

An emergency Security Council meeting was called following its nuclear test. Expect new sanctions to follow.

North Korea manages best it can. Shell companies and other devices are used. They're partly successful. Trading partners go along. Many abhor, don't support, or don't care about about restrictions.

It doesn't stop Washington from pressuring Security Council members to impose them. Beating up on North Korea is longstanding policy. Expect no change now.

Washington first introduced nuclear weapons to the Korean peninsula. Tactical weapons were involved. When Soviet Russia dissolved, North Korea was targeted. In response, Pyongyang withdrew from NPT.

Targeting nonbelligerent countries invites responses. North Korea chose to develop a nuclear deterrent. It has just cause to fear Washington.

East Asian/Korean expert Bruce Cumings discussed it in books and other writings.

"What was indelible about" the Korean war, he said, "was the extraordinary destructiveness of the United States air campaigns against North Korea, from the widespread and continuous use of firebombing (mainly with napalm), to threats to use nuclear and chemical weapons, and the destruction of huge North Korean dams in the final stages of war."

Virtually the entire country was bombed to rubble. Principle targets included Pyongyang, Chongyin, Wonsan, Hungnam and Rashin.

Three to four million died. Unimaginable overall casualties were inflicted. Innocent civilians suffered most. Terror weapons were used. Napalm's effect was horrific.

One survivor spoke for others, saying:

"It fell right on people. Men all around me burned. They lay rolling in the snow. Men I knew begged me to shoot them."

"It was terrible. When the napalm had burned the skin to a crisp, it would be peeled back from the face, arms, legs like fried potato chips."

America wages wars ruthlessly. Rule of law principles are spurned. Orders directed US forces to burn towns and villages. Create oceans of fire, they said.

General Matthew Ridgway directed air force bombers to burn Pyongyang and other strategic targets. Scorched earth death and destruction reflected policy.

MacArthur wanted commander's discretion to use nuclear weapons. Doing so could win the war in 10 days, he claimed.

He wanted to spread a radioactive belt from the Sea of Japan to the Yellow Sea. He called his plan "a cinch." Soviet Russia would have done nothing about it, he said.

Cumings said non-nuclear war "leveled North Korea and killed millions of civilians. North Koreans tell you that for three years they faced a daily threat of being burned (alive) with napalm."

There was no escape. By "1952 just about everything in northern and central Korea had been completely leveled. What was left of the population survived in caves."

Bomb damage assessment showed 18 of 22 major cities were half or more obliterated. Big industrial ones were from 75 - 100% destroyed. Villages were described as "low, wide mounds of violent ashes."

Pyongyang fears America for good reason. It prioritizes nuclear deterrent. It's best for self-defense, it believes. Failure to protect its people would be irresponsible.

What follows remains to be seen. America’s agenda reflects imperial lawlessness. Permanent war is policy. Mass killing and destruction follow.

Perhaps the Korean peninsula is targeted. It wouldn't be the first time. The fullness of time will tell what's planned.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen [at] sbcglobal.net.

His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour

http://www.dailycensored.com/beating-up-on-north-korea/
Add Your Comments

Comments (Hide Comments)
by Union Jack
The article of Stephen's is really full of truthful details and is great as expose' of the evil intentions of U.S. Imperialism towards not only North Korea but the entire Korean People, and as the whole is the sum of its parts, the whole world is partly attacked and suppressed.

Since the U.s. divided the Korean Nation at the dividing line, ie Empires divide and Rule, and in this the Yankee Empire is not an exception.

Five or six years ago, the U.S. Imperial Army decided to enlarge its military base area in the South of Korea, so they sent the Puppet South Korean Police to disassemble a huge farmer area. Thousands of police surrounded the farmers and the village people and those people fought back.

They fought well and for a long time, however the police armed with modern U.S. Weapons soon conquored, and jailed the working people and quelled their resistence. Simmering hatred still reverbs throughout the South. What the U.s. Military directs the southern puppet police and army is what gets done. They tore down the barns and houses and out buildings and prepared a U.s. Nuclear Weapons base.

However this has not stopped since the Macarthur landing in September of 1945. It is continuous policy of U.S. Aggressive Military suppression of the Southern Korean People, as well as the North.

In fact the Korean Peoples Liberation Army Formed and Founded by Kim-il-Sung to fight the Japanese Fascist Military Occupation (which was 50% armed by the war materials that U.s. Military and government sent them during the thirties even though they knew only the Japanese Fascist Military would use them) The Korean Liberation Army during the second world war, finally had defeated the Fascist Japanese toops, and disarmed them before the American Surrender of Japan after the bombing of Hiroshima, and Nagasaki.

The Korean Workers Party formed a government by electing an independent and Woman's equality government which held total Korean space and participation. One united Korea Independent of Foreign rule.

This governance ruled for two whole months, and was the pride of all the Korean People. However, after the American Nuclear Weapon bombing of Japan and the American Surrender of Japan, America decided to land its occupation army in Korea, and overthrow the Korean Democratically elected government of the workers party of Korea.

They did this while releasing the captured Japanese Fascist Soldiers, and giving them back their weapons, and making them police over the Korean People again. They passed a law in the South that only English was official language. Then from 1945 sept. till the so-called start of the Korean War in 1949, they murdered two million South Korean people, and used the fearful collaborators, the south Korean U.S. Puppets to kill their own people.

They then took possession of the South, and attacked the North of Korea, and by the signing of the truce, they murdered another three million Koreans.

Look Korea has been an independent nation for five thousand years, and it is only the U.S. Empirist Military that denies the unity of the Korean People again, and they use the puppet police and Southern Army to suppress and conquer the total Korean People.

The Lies that the U.S. Military tells the world of feedom that is not free, and democracy that is fascist killing and suppression is not at all originating from the Korean Peoples unity and struggle for a return to their sacred nation.

Tell the Korean Veterans that the U.s. Imperialist Military has spread the lie that the war started when the North Attacked the South. It is really the other way around, and the war actually started when the American Military arrived in September 1945-truce and onward as a truce is only a lull in the fighting.

America refuses to sign a peace treaty with the whole Korean People, and the world's people, but continues its 1000's nuclear bomb threat of total destruction against the East, West, North and South of the one Korean People and one Korean Nation, and the one world, and one people world.

Workers of the world Unite!! End Pollution wars, re-cycle to the renewables. The American Empire is a Dictatorship Against the Working Classes of the world!! Ye yet have a world to win!!
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$210.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network