"The evil that men do"...
“During the Korean War, the US dropped more
bombs on North Korea than it had dropped in the entire Pacific theater during
World War II. This carpet bombing, which included 32,000 tons of napalm, often
deliberately targeted civilian as well as military targets, devastating the
country far beyond what was necessary to win the war. Whole cities were
destroyed, with many thousands of innocent civilians killed and many more left
homeless and hungry…. Dean Rusk, a supporter of the war and later secretary of
state, said the United States bombed “everything that moved in North Korea,
every brick standing on top of another.” ..The number of inhabitants of
Pyongyang killed by bomb splinters, burnt alive and suffocated by smoke is
incalculable…”
The US-North Korea Summit in
Hanoi has ended in failure just as all previous attempts at peace have ended in
failure. This is by design. Washington has refused to incrementally lift the
sanctions on the DPRK because sanctions are Washington’s way of prosecuting an
economic war against an enemy who, for the last six and a half decades, has
been the target of US hostility. In case you hadn’t noticed, US policy towards
North Korea is regime change, the same as it is towards Iran, Cuba, Russia,
Venezuela and any other country that doesn’t accept Washington’s moral
superiority and divine right to rule the world. Economic strangulation
(sanctions) is just one way that Washington cracks down on the dissidents and
imposes its will with an iron fist. But don’t kid yourself, this isn’t about
nuclear weapons, in fact, the Trump administration hasn’t even bothered to
assemble a team of weapons inspectors to investigate probable nuclear sites.
Why? Because it isn’t about nuclear weapons, it’s about regime change, it’s
about inflicting maximum pain and suffering on the Korean people so they take
up arms against the government and violently depose Kim and his cabinet. That’s
the goal. That’s always been the goal. The blocking of heating oil, essential
medicines and vital food supplies are all being used to promote social unrest,
fratricidal warfare, and political anarchy. Sound familiar? It should,
Washington has it down to an art.
Kim Jong Un attended the summit
in Hanoi hoping that Trump could be persuaded to keep up his end of the
bargain. He hoped that Trump would overrule the warmongering political class
and honor the agreement he made in Singapore in June, 2018. Here’s a summary
what took place at the first Summit:
“In June Kim Jong-un met U.S.
President Trump in Singapore. A “freeze for freeze” – the stop of nuclear and
missile testing in exchange for a stop of military maneuvers – was agreed upon.
A Joint Statement was signed with a list of future tasks in similar
chronological order as in the Panmunjeom Declaration (numbering added):
President Trump and Chairman
Kim Jong Un conducted a comprehensive, in-depth and sincere exchange of
opinions on the issues related to
1. the establishment of new
US-DPRK relations and
2. the building of a lasting
and robust peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. President Trump committed
3. to provide security
guarantees to the DPRK, and Chairman Kim Jong Un [3b] reaffirmed his firm and
unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
This is the basic outline of
the deal between Trump and Kim. Now whatever readers may think of Kim Jong-un,
he’s not a fool. He did not agree to terminate all nuclear and missile testing,
and decommission his nuclear arsenal for nothing. A deal was made to normalize
relations and create a “robust peace regime” on the peninsula followed by a
phased decommissioning of nuclear weapons. Trump made this deal and, now, he
has broken the deal, just as the United States has broken similar deals in the
past, like the Agreed Framework under President Bill Clinton. Here’s a bit of
background on the AF from a Washington Post editorial by Jimmy Carter (November
24, 2010):
“…in September 2005, an
agreement … reaffirmed the basic premises of the 1994 accord. (The Agreed
Framework) Its text included denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, a pledge
of non-aggression by the United States and steps to evolve a permanent peace
agreement to replace the U.S.-North Korean-Chinese cease-fire that has been in
effect since July 1953. Unfortunately, no substantive progress has been made
since 2005…
“This past July I was invited
to return to Pyongyang to secure the release of an American, Aijalon Gomes,
with the proviso that my visit would last long enough for substantive talks
with top North Korean officials. They spelled out in detail their desire to
develop a denuclearized Korean Peninsula and a permanent cease-fire, based on
the 1994 agreements and the terms adopted by the six powers in September 2005…
“North Korean officials have
given the same message to other recent American visitors and have permitted
access by nuclear experts to an advanced facility for purifying uranium. The
same officials had made it clear to me that this array of centrifuges would be
‘on the table’ for discussions with the United States, although uranium
purification – a very slow process – was not covered in the 1994 agreements.
“Pyongyang has sent a
consistent message that during direct talks with the United States, it is ready
to conclude an agreement to end its nuclear programs, put them all under IAEA
inspection and conclude a permanent peace treaty to replace the ‘temporary’
cease-fire of 1953. We should consider responding to this offer. The
unfortunate alternative is for North Koreans to take whatever actions they
consider necessary to defend themselves from what they claim to fear most: a
military attack supported by the United States, along with efforts to change
the political regime.” (“North Korea’s consistent
message to the U.S.”, President Jimmy Carter, Washington Post)
This is just one of many
agreements brushed aside by the foreign policy establishment and their
bloodthirsty allies in the White House. There have been others as well, like
this recent proposal by Russia that would have dismantled Pyongyang’s primary
nuclear enrichment facility and peacefully ended the threat of nuclear weapons
development in the north. Here’s a blurb from an article by Melvin Goodman at
Counterpunch:
“According to The Washington
Post, Russia made a secret proposal to North Korea last fall to advance
negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang regarding North Korea’s nuclear
weapons program. Moscow offered North Korea a nuclear power plant in return for
the dismantling of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. Russia
would operate the nuclear plant and transfer all byproducts and waste back to
Russia so that North Korea could not exploit the plant to build nuclear
weapons.
The idea of trading off a
nuclear power plant for a dismantling of nuclear weaponry is not a new one.
President Bill Clinton negotiated an arms control agreement with North Korea in
1994, promising Pyongyang two light-water reactors in return for a nuclear
freeze. Construction on the site for the reactors began in the 1990s, but the
Pentagon and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission blocked delivery of the
reactors. As a result, North Korea eventually walked away from the agreement in
the first years of the Bush administration.” (“Russia’s Proposal for
North Korean Denuclearization: Will It Survive John Bolton?”, Counterpunch)
Now if nuclear weapons were
Washington’s main concern, then they had plenty of opportunities to deal with
them. But the nukes were not the top priority, were they? The top priority was
crushing the regime by any means possible and replacing it with a compliant
stooge who would do Washington’s bidding. That’s the real objective. Here’s
more from Thursday’s New York Times:
“Mr. Kim had offered to
dismantle the North’s most important nuclear facility (Yongbyon) if the United
States lifted the harsh sanctions imposed on his nation…“It was about the
sanctions,” Mr. Trump said. “Basically they wanted the sanctions lifted in
their entirety, but we couldn’t do that.”…
But in a late-night news
conference, North Korea’s foreign minister, Ri Yong-ho, contradicted Mr.
Trump’s account, saying the North had asked only for some sanctions to be
lifted — those that affect ordinary people — in exchange for “permanently and
completely” dismantling the main facility in the presence of American experts…(“Trump’s Talks With Kim
Jong-un Collapse, and Both Sides Point Fingers”, New York Times)
So it looks like Trump lied to
the media about Kim’s demands.(which is par for the course) But, keep in mind,
Kim did not ask for anything material from thee US, just an easing of some of
the sanctions to reciprocate for the many steps he had taken to normalize
relations. But Trump refused to make any good faith gesture at all, he simply
stuck to the administration’s hardline approach that stipulates that sanctions
will not be lifted until there is complete, verifiable denuclearisation. No
wiggle room at all. Even so, Kim said that he would not resume his nuclear and
ballistic missile testing and that he would participate in any future
negotiations. In other words, he was slapped down by Trump, but remained
stoically cooperative. Good for him.
But, why? Why would Kim
continue down the path of generosity, cooperation and denuclearisation when the
Trump team refused to give anything in return?
The answer to this question
needs to be thoroughly analyzed so we can see what’s really going on below the
radar.
Ostensibly, the Hanoi Summit
looks like high-level talks between the US and North Korea, but there’s more
here than meets the eye. In truth, Kim is playing to audiences in Seoul, Moscow
and Beijing. In other words, his efforts at peacemaking and denuclearization
have more to do with critical trading partners and allies, then they do with
Donald Trump. Here’s an excerpt that helps to explain:
“Trade with China represents
57% of North Korea’s imports and 42% of its exports. …
In February 2017, China
restricted all coal imports from North Korea until 2018. This is considered to
be extremely harmful to the North Korean economy, as coal was the top export of
the nation, and China was their top trading partner…
On 28 September 2017… China
ordered all North Korean companies operating in China to cease operations
within 120 days. By January 2018 customs statistics showed that trade between
the two countries had fallen to the lowest level recorded.
Banking
On 7 May 2013, Bank of China,
China’s biggest foreign exchange bank and other Chinese banks closed the
account of North Korea’s main foreign exchange bank.
On 21 February 2016 China
quietly ended financial support of North Korea without any media publicity. It
is reported to be due to the fallout of relations between the two
governments….”(Wikipedia)
China Sanctions Summary:
·
China destroyed the North’s import and export trade, including
the North’s primary export, coal.
·
China shut down all the DPRK’s companies operating in China.
(terminating the recycling of revenues back to the North.)
·
China cut off access to foreign banking. (and, thus, foreign
investment)
·
China stopped providing any financial support for the North.
Get the picture? China is North
Korea’s lifeline, which is why Kim is being so cooperative. Naturally, Beijing
does not want the smaller states like North Korea to upset the regional balance
of power by stockpiling nuclear weapons. That won’t do at all, which is why
China agreed to impose sanctions on the North after Kim launched provocative
nuclear tests in the fall of 2017. Bottom line: It is China that forced the
DPRK to the bargaining table, not Trump. And it is China that has scripted much
of Kim’s performance in Hanoi. It goes without saying that any solution to the
current US-DPRK confrontation will be mapped out in Beijing too.
So what is the strategy Kim and
Beijing have settled on, after all, if Washington refuses to negotiate, compromise
or ease sanctions, what can be done?
Quite a bit actually, if Kim
continues along the same path he is today, that is, he must continue the
denuclearization process even though Trump refuses to reciprocate. He must also
continue to work closely with his allies to reduce tensions, build confidence
and strengthen popular support for change, collaboration and reunification. If
Washington is going to be inflexible, then Kim must build a coalition for
support. And, in that regard, he appears to be headed in the right direction.
Here is Kim declaring his “firm will” to denuclearize the peninsula:
“We declared at home and abroad
that we would neither make and test nuclear weapons any longer nor use and
proliferate them, and we have taken various practical measures” toward this
end. He said he is “ready to meet the U.S. president again anytime and will
make efforts to obtain without fail results which can be welcomed by the
international community.”
Kim’s strategy is not
complicated: It’s called ‘public relations’ and he is winning the battle
bigtime. Check out how Kim’s public approval has skyrocketed in South Korea
after the first summit with Trump. This is form Time magazine:
“Friday’s meeting between South
Korean President Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong Un prompted 78 percent of respondents
to a Korea Research Center poll published this week to say they trusted the
North Korean leader. That’s a far cry from the 10 percent of South Koreans who
said they approved of Kim in a Gallup Korea poll conducted just a month-and-a-half
ago…One summit has changed the perceptions of an entire nation.”
(“Kim Jong Un Now Has a Nearly 80% Approval Rating… in South Korea”, Time)
(“Kim Jong Un Now Has a Nearly 80% Approval Rating… in South Korea”, Time)
In the United States, of
course, where the “brutal dictator” meme is reiterated ad nauseam on every news
program, Kim’s approval ratings are still quite low. Even so, according to a
recent Quinnipiac poll, “54% of respondents said that they thought the (first)
summit reduced the likelihood of a nuclear war..” So even in the US, Kim has
succeeded in appearing less threatening than he was before. That is quite an
accomplishment given the way he is demonized by the media.
More importantly, China and
Russia, have been increasingly supportive of Kim’s efforts and think the
sanctions issue should be revisited at the UN. Here’s a clip from a recent Q
and A with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov:
“Pyongyang has announced and
abides by a moratorium on nuclear testing and ballistic missile launches. We believe that the Security
Council could at least make certain gestures by easing or lifting the sanctions
where they impede the implementation of joint South Korean-North Korean
projects.
At their recent meeting, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Chairman of the
DPRK State Council Kim Jong-un agreed to restore the railway link between the
two countries. Why shouldn’t the Security Council analyze how the sanctions
regime could be modified in such a way as to incentivize the railway
reunification of the two Koreas?” (Sergei Lavrov, Valdai)
The point is that Kim has
settled on a plan that doesn’t involve the US that will eventually lead to the
easing of sanctions. His steps towards peaceful interaction with the South
accompanied by gradual denuclearisation are moving forward despite Washington’s
obstructionism. And despite what brainwashed Americans may think, Kim is modern
man who wants to implement dramatic reforms that will open the DPRK’s economy
to foreign investment, infrastructure development, high-speed rail, mineral
extraction, gas pipelines, Siberian oil, shipbuilding and private market
activity. (aka–The Moon-Putin plan) Kim is neither a Marxist revolutionary nor
a Communist ideologue. He is a bright, Swiss educated, basketball-loving,
Karaoke singing father of three who has decided to set aside his misguided
nuclear weapons program and join in a regional development plan that will
modernize his country, lift his people out of poverty and draw the splintered
peninsula back into one prosperous and peaceful nation. Washington should assist
him in his effort.
