Why Has the US Thoroughly Failed in Its 70 Years-long Imperialist War Against the DPRK?
Kiyul Chung
The 4th Media, Editor-in-Chief
Tuesday, August 2, 2016, 14:44
Beijing
[Editor’s note: The following paper in 4 Parts was originally prepared to present before the 70th Anniversary International Symposium on the occasion of Kim Il Sung University Foundation in Pyongyang, DPRK in September 29 – October 1, 2016.
The 4th Media believes Dr. Chung’s paper might be beneficial for its global readership hopefully to understand better the “anti-imperialist” struggle DPRK has endlessly waged ever since the Korean peninsula has been forcibly divided by the Washington’s “Imperial Ambition” in 1945. However, the topic the author persistently dealt or wrestled with throughout the paper should be a non-issue or a less-readily acceptable issue to many.
But, since both the worst W Bush and Obama era ever since early 2000s, specifically with the disastrous and helpless experiences from the cases of former Yugoslavia (in Clinton era), Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Syria, Yemen and many other defenseless nations around the world which had been either already destroyed into shatters and ruins or still being bombed daily for years, it seems many in the world today might have a better (or much better?) position finally to understand at least what the nonstop DPRK-US confrontation for over 70 years is all about.
Therefore, some of the core arguments Prof. Chung presented in his paper should be quite controversial and/or for many hard to swallow to agree with. The 4th Media however hopes its global readership to wrestle with a rather long paper which painstakingly dealt with certainly the most (worst) demonized nation on earth the “North Korea” of its “not-known-before (or probably never been introduced) -to the world issue”, called, the “Military-first Politics“. Best wishes!]
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On Historical Significance of “Songun (i.e., Military-First) Politics”
Part I
CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction Linguistic Analyses and Interpretations
The DPRK-US Struggle and a New Future for the Humanity
A New Russia-China Alliance and the Failed “Anglo-American Empire”
The Songun Politics is the Answer
“Parallel Strategy to Develop Simultaneously both Economy and the Nuclear Power”
Most Challenging, Unpredictable Task: “Leadership Succession”
“North Korean Collapsing Theories” Made in USA
The Game Is Over: “Collapse of Collapsing Theories” and the Peace Treaty Issue
Rapidly Growing Geopolitical Awareness on the DPRK’s Parallel Strategy
Military-First Revolution Continues Through Generations
An Undeniable Historical Fact: It’s the US Who Has Always Failed
The First-ever Defeat the US Imperialists Had in Its War History
The Korean Holocaust and Other Unrecognized Holocausts
Conclusive remarks
Most Extreme Asymmetrical War, Cultural Imperialism, Great Suffering
Songun Politics, US President’s Admittance of Military Defeat
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Preface
This short paper is prepared to present at the September 29th International Symposium on the occasion of 70th Anniversary of Kim Il Sung University Foundation in Pyongyang, Korea in 2016. The paper will attempt to explore some of the Historical Significance of Songun Politics of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, aka, “North Korea”) in the context of still ongoing 70 years-old DPRK-US confrontations.
Let’s find out first where that Korean language Songun which literally means “military-first” is originated from. The still relatively new expression has become broadly popularized ever since Chairman Kim Jong Il era which began since mid 1990s. In fact, this new sociopolitical language was a newly-reinvented wording from late President Kim Il Sung’s “Chong-dae-woo-sun” principle of the 1920s-40s. The latter literally means ‘gun(or military)-priority’. It was popular ever since Kim’s legendary ‘anti-Japanese armed struggle‘ started from late 1920s.
Let’s find out a little bit more about how DPRK officially defines the word Songun. Its official definition can be found from the nation’s official webpage. However, without changing its fundamental meanings, I tried to shorten the nation’s official definition by editing, dropping, and/or changing some of the phrases, sentences, words but not the meanings:
“Songun politics is rooted in the military-priority ideology that embodies the Juche [i.e., “self-reliance”] idea. The late president Kim Il Sung is a founder of Songun ideology … of the Songun revolution. ….. [Organizing] “Down-with-Imperialism Union” by [Kim] in October, 1926 was … to crush the Japanese imperialists. The two pistols left over by his father … [and] the “Down-with-Imperialism Union” [point] out a staunch anti-imperialist and independent stand are the starting point of Songun ideology, [the] ideology of giving precedence to arms and the military. … [The late president] Kim put forward the … armed struggle as the principal line of anti-Japanese national liberation struggle … in June 19, 1930 and thereby proclaimed the birth of Songun ideology … He formed the Anti-Japanese People’s Guerrilla Army, a first revolutionary armed force on April 25, 1932 and started the anti-Japanese armed struggle, which was a historic event announcing the beginning of the Songun revolutionary leadership. … For almost 70 years starting from the mid-1920s when he embarked on the road of revolution with a high ambition for national liberation, he held fast to the line of giving priority to arms and the military and carried out the military-priority principle through. …
In the 1970s and 1980s, [Chairman Kim Jong Il] [was] determined … to work hard to lead the efforts to strengthen the army both politically, ideologically, militarily and technically. In the 1990s, there came to be a great change in [geo]political composition of the world and the balance of [global powers]. The US and the imperialist reactionary forces intensified [unprecedentedly aggressive] military maneuvers to stifle the country…. Chairman Kim, based on a scientific analysis of the changed [geopolitical] situation, declared the Songun politics [the supreme politics of the nation] …. At the 10th Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK in September, 1998, … the Songun politics of the party is the main political mode of socialism which has begun in the era of President Kim and systemized in the hardest time of history [during Chairman Kim era]. Chairman Kim determined that the line of the Songun revolution be held fast to as long as [the US-led imperialist forces continue their aggressive policies against DPRK]. He has unfolded the Songun politics and defended socialism with the might of the Songun politics and advanced the independent cause of the mankind.”
Introduction
Linguistic Analyses and Interpretations
The philosophy of military-first(priority) Korean revolution however shouldn’t be understood as a one-dimensional and exclusive concept limited to strictly military-related matters only. Rather I believe it should be understood as a multidimensional and inclusive concept. Thus I don’t think the “military-first” philosophy mechanically means the military-only or military-centered idea. Even if it says ‘military-first’, I believe it should be interpreted something as a “people-centered military-first strategy”.
From an inclusive and multidimensional perspective, it can be also read as a people-first ideology. In other words, one can also argue the people-centered (or –first) politics as a goal which should be served by the military-first politics as a tool or methodology. In any case any language I believe mustn’t be read literally. What I am trying to do here is to interpret the language freely based upon logic, reason, being objective and truthful, instead read the language mechanically as in the case of over 2000 years-old controversial issues of “biblical literalism” in Western Christianity.
Even if both Chongdaewoosun and Songun sound different from each other, however, I believe both have exactly a very same sociopolitical and philosophical meaning. Thus they shouldn’t be read from the either-or concept. Instead it should be read from the both-and perspective. For they seem identical each other in their historical, sociopolitical and philosophical meanings.
However, what most matters here with regard to the above-discussed issues is I believe the “human-centeredness” or “people-centeredness” which is abundantly clear as in the following arguments explicated by the founder of “Songun language,” the Chairman Kim. In the discussions of Songun politics, Kim emphatically highlights its “Root is the Juche (i.e., self-reliance) thought.” However, he simultaneously identifies the Juche idea as a “human-centered thought.”
If so then, one can conclusively argue the self-reliant military-first politics is essentially a ‘people-centered politics.’ I think this human dimension is the most crucial aspect in any discussions of DPRK’s military-first politics. For example, Kim emphasizes that human dimension as in the following way, “It’s thoroughly a pro-people politics“.
Ever since late President Kim had begun his legendary anti-Japanese armed struggle since late 1920s, DPRK seems to have never dropped, negotiated and/or revised under any circumstances the above-discussed human-centered military-first revolution as their most fundamental sociopolitical and philosophical foundation of the party (Workers’ Party of Korea), the military (Korea People’s Army) and the nation (DPRK).
Based upon the above discussions, though very limited, one can also argue if the nation’s top leadership from the first generation to the present hadn’t made that human-centered military-first principle as the nation’s most fundamental strategic decision, I’d hardly imagine if DPRK’s “our style (in other words, human-centered) anti-imperialist, self-determined socialist revolution” might have survived or could have successfully advanced this far for over 70 years.
Some basic linguistic analyses and interpretations on the Songun language we’ve just discussed above hopefully could help our discussions on the main topic the Songun Politics the author will argue in the remainder of this paper.
The DPRK-US Struggle and a New Future for the Humanity
Like either all the other “collapsed” nations including the former Soviet Union, its satellite socialist Eastern European block countries or other “destroyed” states which were then prone to anti-imperialist, self-determination, socialist principles such as the former Yugoslavia in mid 1990s, Libya in mid 2010s, etc., if DPRK, too, had been either collapsed or destroyed, or both, then I believe today’s favorably changing geopolitical power relations for the sake of humanity’s new future inconceivable.
In other words, like many other failed states during the last quarter century, if DPRK, too, had failed already, then it’s quite doubtful if the following several most representative anti-imperialist struggles [as in the following cases such as Cuba, Iran, Syria, etc. for already several decades, and lately Russia and now even China against the very same enemy, i.e., the US-led global imperialist camp] could have taken place as in the way the world is witnessing today.
For the sake of discussion, here let me present a possibly very controversial argument such as If the world had not known the last 70 years of historically unprecedented DPRK-US confrontation (hereafter, D-U struggle), one could hardly think of today’s rapidly changing geopolitical power politics which I believe seem absolutely favorable for the humanity’s new future.
By the way, today, unlike the past, there seem not much disputes if one could define the D-U struggle which has endlessly continued ever since the end of WWII as the longest, the staunchest and the never-back-down anti-imperialist, self-determined socialist struggle.
I don’t think there won’t be much disagreements now if one argues the D-U struggle isn’t the One-on-One type of match but instead it’s the fight against the US-controlled world in terms of DPRK alone fighting against not only the historically unprecedented 21st Century Global Empire but also the Washington/Tel Aviv-controlled UN, IMF, World Bank, ADB, EU, NATO plus Western and other vassal states around the world for over 70 years. Therefore, the D-U struggle in the Modern World History seems the only case the history has never known in the past.
Indeed, if the still-continuing D-U struggle hadn’t succeeded this far, then I hardly doubt today’s global power politics won’t be the same as we know today. By the same token, if the D-U struggle didn’t exist, I believe today’s rapidly restructuring global power relations favorable toward the humanity’s new future won’t be the same either. For examples, BRICS, SCO, EEU, AIIB, etc. including the rapidly-merging China-Russia strategic alliance would be some of the most representative examples to support the above-discussed arguments.
Again for the sake of discussion, I dare to argue if DPRK had NOT successfully put down, repeatedly ridiculed or categorically defeated Washington’s each and every imperialist war of aggressions for 70 years, it seems also hardly improbable if one of the most representative anti-imperialist struggles in the world today like the great Russia-US confrontation (hereafter, R-U struggle) wouldn’t either have taken place as we see today.
It seems it’s now a more readily agreeable knowledge DPRK had been singled out for Washington’s psychological warfare in global scale which has been always accompanied by vicious demonization campaigns to further isolate and to cut off the DPRK completely from the international communities. Of course, Washington’s demonization campaign has been also fully supported by its endless DPRK-suffocation policy by nonstop economic blockades and financial sanctions.
Last quarter century, as well-known, even China and Russia participated in the US-led UNSC sanctions. While the world has continued to sanction DPRK, in the meantime US has also stepped up its nonstop nuclear war threats as well. However, since early 1990s, almost every nation on earth, including China and Russia until recently, wouldn’t have dared to challenge a monster-like Global Empire.
Therefore, as a most probable result from the above-mentioned all that global anti-DPRK suffocation strategies, if the “North Korea” had been already wiped out a quarter century ago like the Soviets and many other defenseless nations, I hardly doubt what the world witnesses today in the 21st Century global power politics wouldn’t be same as we know these days.
I don’t think it’d be unnecessarily much difficult to understand what we’re talking about here if we’d remember what’d happened to, for example, the 1990s’ Russia. We all remember what’d happened to Russia then. The world particularly remembers what’d happened to Russia right after the former Soviet Union was completely dissolved in early 1990s. What’d happened to Russia then was well summarized in a book, titled, “Disaster Capitalism” written by a world-renowned lady journalist in US, Naomi Klein.
As she powerfully argued in her 1997 best-seller book, the world remembers how the then thoroughly defeated, humiliated, and downgraded Russia (like a ‘2nd class state’ from once one of the most powerful, the greatest and the internationally-most-respected nations in the world) and most of its great national wealth as a whole had been robbed by the US-controlled NATO powers.
Of course, all that American-style “highway robbery”, nicknamed lately as ‘Bankster Imperialism”, had been carried out by Wall Street’s so-called “neoliberal economic advisors,” often called then the “Chicago Boys.” Klein argues the whole Russia then was systematically robbed by the West.
However, only after a short quarter century, as a big surprise to the world, the great Russia is back. She is amazingly back now in full force. President Vladimir Putin is there. He’s right there standing tall not only for a new future of his great nation but also for a world’s new future.
A New Russia-China Alliance and the Failed “Anglo-American Empire”
As we’ve discussed above, China-US confrontation (hereafter, C-U struggle) won’t be much different from the R-U struggle either, though there seem varied differences between the two nations’ anti-imperialist struggles against the same US-controlled world.
For more than a quarter century, in the name of “reform, opening door policy,” no matter what, China had danced in a way with the US, i.e., the real “Evil Empire” the term the former late US president Ronald Reagan had used against the former Soviet Union in 1980s. By the way, if he’d used it to name his own mother nation instead, the once-globally-popularized infamous ‘Evil Empire’ term might have earned much supports and even some respects from around the world.
For some periods in the past, many Chinese both in the leadership and the ordinary people seemed to haven’t fully realized how evil that empire is. But lately, China, too, seems to have further deeply realized what kind of satanic Empire they’d been dancing with for about 30 some years is all about. A more serious geopolitical realization seems to have come in the minds of national leadership in the wake of the US-instigated, -manufactured and further -inflamed South China Sea (SCS) conflicts.
It seems a more number of people have come to realize how cunning, vicious and satanic Washington’s divide-and-conquer strategy is all about as they see in the case of SCS conflict. For example, US has deceitfully played with China’s most South East Asian neighbors, like specifically Vietnam and the Philippines, go against China. Again lately a lot more number of Chinese people seem to have much more seriously figured out how anxious, frantic and even satanic the psychopathic Zionists-controlled Washington is all about.
No matter what, how and why, even if they had once danced with the US, the more China seems to have realized who they’d danced with, the more Beijing seems unwilling to date with Washington any longer.
For the former under any circumstances isn’t the evil empire in anyway like the latter. The two nations fundamentally differ from each other almost in everything. Therefore, from the very beginning since early 1980s, their unlikely (in other words, incongruous, dubious or inconceivable) honeymoon seemed to have been destined not to succeed for long. China is a fundamentally different nation from the way USA had been built upon the full of overflowing bloods of over 100 million Native Americans.
The utterly blood-soaked European colonialists for over 5 centuries since 1492 had not only created a massive continental “blood sea” covering the whole (North, Central, South and the Caribbean islands) Americas but also made numerous more blood seas all over the world such as the Philippines since late 19th Century, Korea since mid 20th Century, Vietnam in the first latter part of 20th Century, Iraq both in late 20th and early 21st Century, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Yemen all in early 21st Century. China never be the same sort of nation like the US by any standard.
By nature, therefore, as if nothing had happened, I don’t think China can further continue to dance with that kind of utterly satanic entity anymore. So it seems the rapidly growing China-Russia alliance is a right answer for China, Russia and the whole world. However, the new China-Russia alliance definitely is never going to be like the now broken, failed, dismantled 70 years-old “Anglo-American Empire” either. Now as well-known, the once most powerful, globally-encompassing, strongest strategic alliance for over half a century is in a free fall situation at the moment.
Anyway a never-imaginable event like the June 2016 Brexit, as one of the most mammoth geopolitical earthquakes in 21st Century specifically in terms of today’s evermore unpredictable geopolitical power reshufflings, had never taken place ever since WWII. There is no doubt, even if hell (of a) lot of and all sorts of anti-Brexit political maneuvers by Washington/Tel Aviv-instigated pro-EU forces will be definitely unfolded for an unknown period, it’ll however most likely change, disrupt, and fundamentally shatter the over 500 years-old Western Imperialist alliance in a major way.
The C-U struggle therefore should be dealt from the above-discussed evermore fluctuating geopolitical power politics of the 21st Century which was just most symbolically culminated in the Brexit vote.
What I’ve been arguing above with regard to both R-U and C-U struggle is about the indispensable role the historic D-U struggle had played for about a quarter century. During that time, as a matter of fact, there was literally nobody around, except a few but not strong enough to wage a global war, i.e., the world’s anti-imperialist, self-determined and socialist war against the then Only Global Superpower(OGS).
There is no doubt that a quarter century-long global war in 1990s-2000s was waged almost all by DPRK alone. However, the most important thing NOW is DPRK’s struggle is not alone anymore. Since Russia and China have recently joined the global war, today’s geopolitical power politics, either centered around or towards the principles of anti-imperialism and self-determination at least, isn’t the same anymore.
It seems after the sovereign, oil-rich and socialist Libya was destroyed by US/NATO war criminals, both R-U and C-U struggles, as some of the most prominent but still relatively new in the world’s anti-imperialist struggles, seemed to have finally taken the Satanic Nature of Zionist-controlled Washington/Tel Aviv imperialist alliance a lot more seriously than before.
It seems however the degrees of both nations’ anti-imperialist struggles against the same US-controlled world still seem not the same as that of DPRK. But Third World’s most representative anti-imperialist struggles like Cuba, Iran, Syria, etc. have already taken the “enemy of the humanity” seriously almost same as that of DPRK a long time ago.
As we’ve just discussed above, thus, one can cautiously predict the above-mentioned world’s most representative self-determined anti-imperialist struggles against the same enemy, the 21st Century Global Empire seem to have fundamentally changed the future characteristics of global power politics irreversibly.
That fundamentally irreversible change can be most symbolically characterized as in the way as the once most powerful and omnipresent Washington power is now rapidly declining. Therefore, the OGS definitely doesn’t exist anymore. There is no such thing anymore. The OGS is lost. It’s gone already once for all. How? And why?
The Songun Politics is the Answer, Part II
Based upon the above-argued analyses, interpretations, and readings of today’s global power politics and of course the over 500 years-old history of Western Imperialism which is represented by Washington/Tel Aviv today, the answer is I believe the 70 years-old history of D-U struggle. In other words, DPRK’s “almost a century-old Songun Politics” is the answer.
The still-continued D-U struggle itself means the unstoppably declining US position in today’s global power relations. In fact, the irrecoverable deterioration of US power in D-U struggle has begun way back in early 1990s. The Geneva “DPRK-US Basic Agreements” (hereafter, DUBA) signed in October 1994, as one of the most surprising therefore absolutely unimaginable political event, I believe, was one of the most historical turning points in the late 20th Century’s geopolitical power struggles.
What I am talking about here is the great geopolitical timing of the event. The DUBA timing in early 1990s was most strikingly significant. As well-known, it was when, starting with the Soviets, almost every nation on earth, nations prone to anti-imperialist socialism, began to either collapse, being destroyed or thrown into all sorts of Washington-instigated ‘regime change’ crises one after another.
It was when almost every nation had to behave before the OGS. Otherwise no nation was immune either from economic sanctions or military interventions, or from both unilaterally imposed by that real evil empire. However, in the case of DPRK, even if the US had done everything for 70 years in maximum, the last quarter century in minimum, the Washington hadn’t been able to even cross the 38th Parallel Line for a 0.00001 mm toward the north.
Therefore, as the author of this paper has argued in numerous times at least since December 27, 2011, I’d still contend US is already a finished empire. This argument is based upon a numerous number of undeniable historical facts that Washington hasn’t been able to do anything what it’d wanted against DPRK throughout the unbelievable history of 70 years-old D-U struggle.
As said above, for US, the still continuing D-U struggle itself means exactly, as in the language of Noam Chomsky, “The Failed State”. In a way, the longer the D-U struggle continues, the more the already finished therefore irrecoverably failed empire looks even furthermore completely defeated.
For some known and unknown reasons, DPRK in its 70 years of ongoing struggles against the most asymmetrically uneven counterpart in every aspect has inexplicably or mysteriously defeated, humiliated, ridiculed the OGS at every turn.
It’s like, therefore, as if the DPRK, at the expense of its own 25 million populations’ great suffering for several decades, had however prepared a new future for the world in which someday, hopefully not far down the road but in near future, all nations can live in peace with their neighbors thereby they’d harmoniously work together for each other’s co-prosperity without getting afraid of being threatened anymore from the most destructive real evil empire the humanity has never known before.
So one can even further arguably claim that the historic D-U struggle in a way has humbly presented a new future for the whole humanity by radically changing or restructuring the early 21st Century’s global power politics. One can call it the 21st Century Global Struggle between the DPRK, Russia and China-led International Anti-Imperialist and Self-determination Camp and the US/Tel Aviv-controlled world. The latter of course represent the over 500 years-old Western Imperialists.
Needless to say their expendable therefore anytime disposable clients, puppets, or vassals like Saudi, Turkey, Tokyo, South Korea and many others around the world are in the latter camp as well. By the way, though some may disagree, I believe by now one should be able to even contend the 70 years-old D-U struggle has both symbolically and practically represented the world’s most anti-imperialist self-determined socialist struggles in the forefront of the 20th and 21st Century.
Therefore, particularly after the KWP’s 7th Party Congress in May 2016, I don’t think seemingly there are still a lot more number of people further doubt as they did in the past if one conclusively argues DPRK is undeniably the most representative nation in today’s world’s anti-imperialist self-determined socialist struggles against the US-controlled world.
“Parallel Strategy to Develop Simultaneously both Economy and the Nuclear Power”
Let’s now try to find out, if possible, some logical clues and philosophical answers why we should have read that military-first language in the way as we’ve discussed from the very beginning of this paper. According to Chairman Kim’s definitions, it’s obvious the goal of the military-first principle isn’t the military.
Actually to defend, protect and further develop their already-firmly built-in self-determined, anti-imperialist and the people-centered socialist nation is its goal. So one should firstly conclude with a more assurance that the fundamental goal the military-first revolution solely aims for is the people, not the military.
In other words, unless a nation’s self-defensive military capability is assuredly strong enough to deter, stop, if needed, defeat any types of foreign military interventions, the nation’s sovereignty, dignity and security won’t be sufficiently warranted. As a result, the people’s security, wellbeing, and happiness won’t be either protected.
Therefore, one can find some logically-justifiable reasons why DPRK has chosen that most challenging but most guaranteed and the surest path both for the future of nation and the people. So one can again conclusively argue now a lot more comfortably the military-first revolution is for the people, not for the military.
The people is the goal, the military the tool as a methodology. Only thereafter the nation’s undisrupted economic developments can be also simultaneously ensured. That’s why I believe the Songun revolution, no matter how hard it was both in the beginning and throughout the process, as Chairman Kim once said, had been chosen as “the supreme politics of the nation.”
That supreme politics during the already-mentioned 2nd Arduous March, i.e., the most challenging period at the expense of people’s unimaginably great hardship, suffering and shortage of everything for about a quarter century, however, had been able to successfully prepare for the nation’s next generation of the leadership to be able to launch a further emboldened, ambitious, and critical strategy, called the “Parallel Strategy to Develop both Economy and the Nuclear Power Simultaneously” (hereafter, Parallel Strategy or PS).
DPRK argues, though still many would hardly agree, they believe the PS only should be able to safeguard both nation’s security, people’s wellbeing and nation’s undisruptive economic prosperity simultaneously. Therefore, it should be DPRK’s only but best choice which they argue has been also scientifically proven as the most justifiable strategy for them to stick with until they’d accomplish their most ambitious goals, i.e., both the economy and the nation’s security simultaneously.
Thus, the Parallel Strategy logically seems the most justifiable choice for them to live with, no matter how others argue. Anyway this newly-revised national strategy, with much heavier emphasis on the economic development, is already one of the most symbolic political slogans of the Kim Jong Eun era.
In other words, the elder Chairman Kim’s “hard-chosen Songun politics” had after all successfully achieved its most crucial however then regarded by most in the world as an “impossible therefore unachievable” goal to defend the nation from all sorts of US-led imperialists’ ‘regime change’ strategies.
But that “impossible goal” the Songun politics aimed most while the US-controlled world flatly dismissed as an unachievable one however had been already far surpassingly accomplished. In other words, The Songun politics had not only defended the nation but also, no matter how outside world argues, made DPRK obtained a nuclear deterrent capability.
Therefore, one can point out here in the discussions of Songun politics a most historical paradox, probably one of the most unbelievable paradoxes in the 21st Century world’s power politics.
The paradox is it’s the US imperialists whose 70 years-old anti-DPRK strategy had after all assisted DPRK become a nuclear power. What a great paradox it is! It’d have been probably one of the most unexpected outcomes for everybody, particularly for the US imperialists.
It must have been a worst nightmare for the Washington war planners to swallow as a new reality already for almost 20 years now ever since DPRK had successfully launched its first satellite into the orbit in August 1998. The DPRK’s first successful nuclear bomb test in 2006 was another nightmare for the Washington war planners. Those worst nightmares for US however must have been paradoxically a great blessing for DPRK.
For the latter has been undoubtedly threatened by US nuclear war threats for over 60 some years ever since Washington failed to occupy the north in its 1950-53 imperialist war of aggressions. Therefore, I don’t think there are still a lot of people who’d dare to argue on this undeniable history that the nuclear DPRK must be one of the greatest paradoxes in the world history.
The nuclear DPRK is doubtlessly one of the worst and the most miserable disasters in US war history. The nuclear DPRK itself in fact means the 70 years-long D-U struggle is already over, unless the psychopathic insanity in Washington is beyond control. What it means also is the Peace Treaty as the only solution which could peacefully end the 66 years-long worst enemy relationship.
Most Challenging, Unpredictable Task: “Leadership Succession”
However, in addition to the military-first politics’ first and foremost crucial goal to defend the nation, there was another task, probably the most challenging task which hadn’t been however undeclared until last minutes. But in many aspects it might have been in a way much more challenging and unpredictable task than those stated crucial goals of Songun politics. Another most crucial but most challenging therefore extremely unpredictable task was the “leadership succession.
However, it had been also successfully accomplished already. After 5 years passed since December 2011, everybody seemed to have realized how absolutely and indispensably crucial task that undeclared goal was. It was the task to prepare the nation’s next leadership who’d take the people under any circumstances into a much better, far better future based upon the same revolutionary tradition, i.e., the people-centered military-first politics.
What ordinary population in DPRK seemed to have most appreciated, in humble memories of their “beloved great leader General Kim Jong Il”, was that undeclared task of “revolutionary leadership succession” had been wonderfully prepared therefore superbly accomplished. The 5 years of seemingly par excellence leadership performed by the “new supreme leader” Kim Jong Eun seems to have made undoubtedly the world quite surprised. It’d be the reason why lately the world seems less hear the US-manufactured quite noisy, ugly and disrespectful defamation campaigns against the new DPRK leadership.
However, the world still is noisy with the so-called “North Korean human rights” issues the lately furthermore psychopathic Washington [by the way, for the sake of the discussion, the US as the historically unprecedented case, unbelievably most hypocritical and shameless entity ever existed in human history] habitually argues. What it means however is Washington has no more cards to use in its imperialist war against DPRK other than throwing out those outdated campaigns of demonization.
It’s definitely another undeniable proof that Washington has miserably failed, completely lost, and now even don’t know what to do about its failed “Anti-North Korea Policy”. When Washington habitually talks about Others ‘human rights abuse issues’, it means they are mentally ill. Severely ill! It’s an abominable illness. They’re helplessly ill.
However, no matter what Washington did, at least with regard to the issue of nation’s leadership succession, particularly after the quite historic and very successful 7th Party Congress in May 2016, there seem not much disagreements about the leadership succession issue anymore.
Seemingly there are apparently a lot more, regardless of like or dislike, supportive or unsupportive, almost universally-shared recognitions of Chairman Kim’s surprisingly far surpassing leadership skills and capabilities which seemed to have gone way beyond most people’s assessments, expectations, and predictions.
A more number of top leaders in many nations around the world, specifically now even China and Russia, of course many third world nations like Cuba, Iran, Syria, etc., already seemed to have respectfully recognized this undeniable fact. It’d be one of the main reasons why the world lately won’t hear much those stereotypically insane, cynical, ill-willed, skeptical and senseless noises against DPRK anymore.
Even if 5 years of nonstop reporting had been relentlessly made on the DPRK’s new leadership by the world’s most mainstream media mostly with unfavorable, unsupportive, often defamatory contents, however, the international standing of the new Chairman Kim as DPRK’s supreme leader seems to have been dramatically improved right after the successfully completed and very impressive 7th Party Congress.
What it means I believe is many in the world today in a way respectfully recognize the most challenging leadership succession task wonderfully completed now. Even if all sorts of both internal and external challenges, pressures, threats, etc., must have been heavily, if not overwhelmingly, placed upon his shoulder, however, it seems the nation’s most challenging task of leadership succession had been masterfully accomplished.
By launching the Parallel Strategy under the new leadership, DPRK’s almost a century-long tradition of people-centered military first politics has been also masterfully succeeded. It’s been already reported that it’s now even firmly built into the nation’s Constitution since 2013. What it means is the nation’s most urgent and most challenging tasks both in economic and national security matters have been also masterfully completed within that short period by the third generation of the nation’s new leadership as well.
Therefore, particularly today, it seems many would readily or more comfortably agree with the fact that the military-first politics has been the very reason all along why and how DPRK has not only survived but also successfully deterred the nonstop US-led imperialist war of aggressions for 70 years.
One can hardly question why the new DPRK leadership defines the Parallel Strategy as an absolutely justifiable strategy and then even in 2013 has constitutionalized it. Now, more than ever, seemingly almost everybody in the nation predict their future with a sense of absolute confidence, in addition to their nation’s security, that the new supreme leadership will be able to complete another most urgent task under any circumstances, i.e., the building an economically stronger and advanced nation.
“North Korean Collapsing Theories” Made in USA, Part III
The last quarter century of DPRK history can be characterized as in the following languages, the ‘extreme poverty, hunger thereby indescribably great suffering.’ DPRK population as a whole had to pay an immeasurable price for its never-back-down anti-imperialist principle to fight defiantly monster-like global empire for 70 years.
So it’d to breathlessly face endless challenges which had caused endless sufferings forever upon its entire population. The Songun period, as mentioned above already a couple of times, for about a quarter century, it’d been also called 2nd Arduous March which usually meant the period of unimaginable, indescribable, unthinkable and unspeakable sufferings for the entire population in the north.
The timing of the most challenging period for DPRK was coincidentally overlapped with the timing of a series of simultaneously collapsing states, starting with the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellite socialist states. The socialist China in the meantime was so busy then with its new socioeconomic, cultural and political experiment, i.e., the ‘Chinese-style socialist market economy’, also called “Reform and Opening Door Policy” which began with the China-US normalization in 1979.
The timing of all the above-mentioned world’s major earthquake-like geopolitical power politics taking place was also coincided with the sudden but peaceful departure of the DPRK founder President Kim Il Sung at 82 in July 8, 1994. That timing was also tragically coincided with the subsequently following 5-6 years of consecutive major natural disasters.
All that timing then made almost everybody in the world assume the “North Korea will soon collapse” within a foreseeable future. Many in 1990s comfortably predicted its imminent collapse with some specific timings starting with the “2-3 months or up to 6 months” theory. When the widely-predicted imminent collapse didn’t happen within that specific time periods, they came up with another time frame such as the “within 2-3 years” of collapse theory.
But after all, during that quarter century-long Arduous March period, no matter what US imperialists did and no matter how great the suffering was in the north, Washington failed to destroy DPRK. US failed to force the ‘regime change’ in the north. The predicted collapse the world sang for a quarter century however didn’t happen. How? And why?
The simplest answer to that question is the Songun politics which has made the US endlessly failed to implement its “regime change” agenda in the north. During a YouTube interview in January 22, 2015, Obama claimed “the North Korea is the most isolated, the most sanctioned, the most cut-off nation on Earth”.
Yes, even if he didn’t have any idea what he was talking about and what it meant to be with regard to the unspeakable suffering it’d caused upon the DPRK population of 25 million, he was however correct to say that.
Indeed, as he said, DPRK, for about a quarter century, was exactly like that. So many call what DPRK is all about now an unimaginable miracle. Indeed, what a great miracle it is! No matter what the Washington/Tel Aviv-controlled world did, it’s absolutely sure the global empire has endlessly lost anyway.
The 70 years-old global scale war against the other end, i.e., asymmetrically look so small on a tiny land with extremely limited basic resources such as food, electricity and energy, with a small population, etc. etc. versus the world’s most and unprecedentedly gigantic, humongous, mammoth empire the humanity has never known before in its entire history.
The Songun politics therefore must be the main culprit in the eyes of global imperialists. That’s why the more and more getting psychopathic Washington, the more and more unimaginably insane Park in Seoul, and the more and more cunningly opportunistic cowardice in Tokyo all in unison have adamantly opposed to the introduction of Parallel Strategy.
The Game Is Over: “Collapse of Collapsing Theories” and the Peace Treaty Issue
The following excerpt is from one of the most recent interviews by Dr. Johan Galtung, a globally-renowned scholar, peace activist, founder of the Peace Research Institute in Oslo, with a conservative daily newspaper in Seoul. For the sake of our discussion, I’m going to share some of his ideas and thoughts below:
“…….. Despite Pyongyang’s unabated nuclear ambitions, Seoul should seek to craft an ‘exit strategy’ to defuse cross-border tension away from the current focus on sanctions and pressure, … he noted that the South Korean Park Geun-hye [regime], with its hardline stance against the North, should now take a different approach. … I think it is more Washington’s rather than Seoul’s policy, hence no exit strategy. … The U.S. policy from 1953 on has been to hope for and stimulate a DPRK (North Korea) collapse, hugely underestimating their strength. DPRK has demanded a peace treaty, normal relations, and a nuclear free Korean Peninsula, and has run out of patience. … the [so-called] ‘North Korea Collapse Theory’ will be collapsed before [if] the “North Korea” as a nation [ever does so] … Ever since 1812 until 1953, the United States had won all the wars it fought. However, for the first time, it didn’t win the war it fought against the newly-born nation, i.e., Democratic People’s Republic of Korea(DPRK). The US lost its war to DPRK in 1950-53. The US can’t stand with that humiliated historical fact in which they didn’t win the war. By the way, from 1801 to today the US has endlessly engaged more than 284 times in the wars around the world. ……”
As mentioned above, nonetheless, the third generation of the nation’s new leadership has masterfully implemented DPRK’s almost a century-long human-centered military first tradition into the practical work. What it means is the 70 years-old D-U struggle is over! The game is over! In other words, it meant the unilaterally-imposed 70 years of uneven structure of D-U struggle has fundamentally changed with a new reality, i.e., DPRK had undoubtedly acquired a sufficient nuclear deterrent power already.
Indeed, within such a short 5-year period, under the masterful leadership performed by Chairman Kim, it seems DPRK must have successfully acquired scientifically one of the world’s most sophisticated nuclear technologies today. In order to further develop its nuclear-related technologies such as “diversification, miniaturization and weight lightening” skills, he seems to have made extraordinary efforts.
The more US threatens DPRK, as the latter argues always, the more its “already most sophisticated strategic nuclear weapons and capabilities” seems evermore being further improved to “an unlimited level.” A series of following successful nuclear- and missile/rocket-related tests in recent years, particularly the 2015 and 2016 consecutive years are some good examples. Last year to name a few are specifically ICBM, SLBM, etc.
This year to name several tests are most importantly starting with the H-bomb in January and afterwards next several months, followed by IRBM-ICBM, SLBM, EMP, Atmospheric Reentry, Rocket Solid Fuel, New Type of ICBM Ground Expulsion Engine, etc. As arguably contended already, the above-exampled nuclear and rocket/missile-related technologies have fundamentally changed the above-mentioned uneven structure of the 70 years-old D-U struggle.
Due to the above-discussed fundamental structural change in D-U struggle which has consequently resulted the fundamental status change of DPRK in the world power politics, one could therefore conclude the 64 years-delayed but now unavoidably-impending (or ‘must-be’) process of signing the Peace Treaty seems to have finally begun in an irreversible way.
For US, many already have argued, it seems today there is no more time and space left for Washington to run away, as they did last 60 some years, from that new reality any longer. The impending process of signing the Peace Treaty between DPRK and US is something like a dream come true. It’s not a fiction. Not an illusion. It’s a new reality. Therefore, sooner or later, as in recent years many argue more comfortably, this dream may indeed come true. The evermore further developed DPRK’s nuclear technology and continued self-reliant economic development seem to have made US out of more choices but to respond accordingly.
In any case, as a matter of fact, the Washington’s defeat to Pyongyang is not a mere defeat in an ordinary military warfare. Neither was it a defeat in a “One-on-One” warfare, nor a defeat from a just onetime fighting in a single battle. Rather it’s the series of nonstop, multiple and ongoing defeats for the duration of 70 years in the form of repeated compromises, concessions and retreats. Washington’s defeat in fact is the defeat of the US-controlled world as a whole.
It’s the defeat of the US-ruled world which has relentlessly imposed its 70 years of long and deadly serious ‘total warfare’ against a single and a very small entity in multiple fronts, almost in all areas such as: 1) military (both psychological and military hardware); 2) economy; 3) culture, 4) socio-politics; 5) science; and 6) evermore changing world’s power politics, etc. It’s been undeniably, undoubtedly and undisputedly an “all-out war” for that many long decades.
The D-U struggle therefore one can cautiously predict is finally about to come to an official end by finally implementing the 1953 agreement, i.e., the signing of Peace Treaty, which was made officially among 3 warring parties between DPRK-China and US. However, it’s not going to be freely given by a benevolent party. In any case, the Washington imperialists voluntarily won’t do that. Therefore, the Peace Treaty is something “our peoples in north, south and overseas” all together must obtain by force. The force which means the nuclear power of the north will continually force the US all the way through until they sit and sign the paper.
Today not only the world but also the people themselves in DPRK seem all amazed to watch that urgent and most wanted task the world has often dismissed impossible is being, day by day, month by month, and year after year, unbelievably unfolded before their eyes. The economic development seems, with an unimaginable speed, to have continued from a much more improved, strengthened but most importantly scientifically assured position than the past.
The rapid economic development at least last several years has been reportedly due to those saved 30% military expenditure since somewhere around 2006 when DPRK successfully tested their first nuclear bomb in October. Before 2006, according to another inside but credible report on the economy with regard to the military spending, DPRK’s national defense bill was up to around 33% in their entire national budget.
However, after the 2006’s first successful nuclear bomb test, again according to a DPRK inside information, without being further afraid of US nuclear attacks they’d endlessly feared for well over half a century ever since they’ve been threatened being bombed in November 1950, DPRK finally was able to relocate their nation’s financial resources to the areas of human wellbeing, in other words, the longtime-delayed economic development.
Surprise to most, even the outside world’s mainstream media outlets can’t hide or refute anymore, DPRK’s once almost-unachievable goal to become both economically and militarily much stronger simultaneously has been already achieved in many aspects. However, no matter what’s happened, most so-called “Korea experts” and mainstream media pundits mainly in Washington and Tokyo but most prominently the psychopathic Park in Seoul have reputed the Parallel Strategy impossible or unachievable.
Like the Washington neocon psychopaths, the equally psychopathic Park regime in the south is a worst example as the worst-ever nightmare for the entire nation and Northeast Asia as a whole. No matter how much rapidly the situation in the north has changed, those sick people’s ill-willed stereotypical predictions of “collapse theory” have never changed. Their groundless, ideologically-twisted and/or a fiction-like wishful predictions of “North Korean soon-to-be-collapsing” theories have never been dropped.
People like the severely psychopathic Park in Seoul live in a fictitious world: An illusion replaces a reality. Nonetheless, for decades, all their baseless, wishful therefore irresponsible North Korean collapse theories have been discarded, humiliated or at least chastened all along. In fact, the longer DPRK has continued to prosper under any circumstances, the more all sorts of psychopathic insanities in Washington, Tokyo, and Seoul have become further severer.
The longer Washington desperately repeats its evermore failed psychological warfare against DPRK in the form of typical demonization campaigns such as so-called “human rights abuse, money laundering, drug trade, political prisoner camps,” etc. the more their unscientifically wishful predictions of ‘collapsing theories’ are trashed out. Those trash-like groundless accusations against DPRK is lately furthermore disgracefully dismissed.
Lately a more number of people even in Washington seem stay away from those ill-willed wishful predictions of various “North Korean” collapsing theories. So once again one can assuredly conclude the Songun politics during the most challenging Arduous March era had however successfully prepared the third generation of nation’s leadership to be able to launch its absolutely justifiable Parallel Strategy. It seems Dr. Galtung wasn’t wrong when he fascinatingly phrased on all those ill-willed collapsing theories will collapse first.
Rapidly Growing Geopolitical Awareness on the DPRK’s Parallel Strategy
Thus, as we’ve already discussed above from the very beginning of this paper, I do still believe the military-first concept shouldn’t be mechanically read as a one-dimensional exclusive concept in terms of the military-only or –limited concept. But it instead should be interpreted inclusively from a multidimensional background within the context of people-centered military strategy, not vice versa. I believe it’s now undeniably proven to the world that this human-centered military-first politics as a nation’s supreme strategy has not only safeguarded DPRK’s national security but also their people’s wellbeing.
This sort of new geopolitical awareness among some global populations seems to have grown to a much higher level, so that they’d understand a bit better how and why DPRK has not only survived but also been able to continue its undisruptive self-reliant economic developments, particularly ever since the new Chairman Kim has taken the nation’s supreme leadership in late 2011. Like last 60 some years, under the 3rd new leadership, DPRK is still being blockaded economically, sanctioned financially, isolated internationally, and threatened militarily with nonstop nuclear war threats. However, no matter what, DPRK’s undisruptive economic development has been exponentially further improved.
Coincidentally, the timing of the arrival of Kim Jong Eun era was identical with the sudden demise of sovereign oil-rich Libya in late 2011. It was one of the strategic outcomes from US/Tel Aviv-instigated “regime change” strategies which began in Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, Ukraine and throughout the world. This timing element however seems to have worked paradoxically as a quite positive factor for the strategically identical timing of the introduction of Parallel Strategy launched by the third generation of the nation’s new leadership to the world in 2013.
It was when those nations who were prone to self-determined anti-imperialist principles, particularly China and Russia had painstakingly or regrettably realized an important political lesson that unless a sovereign nation, by any means necessary, can defend itself independently with its own self-defensive measures, its destiny can be abruptly taken away by outside forces and disappeared forever. Both Iraq and Libya were in turn destroyed right after they had been forced or volunteered to abandon their self-defensive military capabilities.
The US-led NATO’s war crimes and crimes against humanity which have been repeatedly committed in nations like Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, Sudan in the past, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen today have never been checked, stopped and/or punished. Of course, for more than half a century, another most notoriously war crimes and crimes against humanity which have been unstoppably committed against Palestinians by the Washington-supported Israeli Zionists for more than half a century haven’t been checked, stopped and/or punished either.
But most importantly it seems the most recent Iraqi and Libyan lesson must have made the world learn a very serious political lesson. Therefore, in a way, the timing of the introduction of Parallel Strategy seemed favorable. One could point out it was sort of a perfect timing in terms of more favorable, supportive, understandable political environments, recognitions and solidarities from around the world in general, most third world nations in particular.
Therefore, a more number of people seem to have figured out much better why and how DPRK for that many long years could have categorically defeated US imperialist war of aggressions at every turn. It seems now therefore much difficult for the world to negate an undeniable historical fact that the US is the one who’s been repeatedly ridiculed by an extremely asymmetrical enemy.
Lately therefore it seems now less controversial or less disputable on the question if DPRK’s people-centered Songun revolution had not only saved the nation from the madness of psychopathic Washington imperialists and its vassal states like Tokyo and South Korea but also enabled the nation dramatically to have become now “a global nuclear superpower.” So it’s logically quite understandable if the Songun politics is still the most important norm for all the major both national and international issues in DPRK. It seems in the North the Songun philosophy is like a most revered norm for the entire population.
For example, even in the third national leadership era, almost the century-long tradition of military-priority revolution hasn’t changed a bit. It instead in Kim Jong Eun era had been strategically further reinforced, restructured and reinvigorated with a much heavier emphasis on the economic development than the past. Therefore, lately the Parallel Strategy seems more like a globally-recognized public knowledge. After the 7th Party Congress it’s become much more so. As noted above, it’s been already legally enshrined in the newly-revised Preface of the Korea Workers’ Party Rules.
No matter whether outside world supports or not, it seems after the 7th Party Congress a more number of people in the world would readily agree with the notion that the military-first revolution was, is and will be the most fundamental factor how and why DPRK has not only survived but also in such a short quarter century time period mysteriously become “a global nuclear superpower”. For many remember it’s all happened while DPRK has endlessly been blockaded economically, sanctioned financially, and threatened by the most aggressive, arrogant and psychopathic nuclear-armed nation on earth.
Military-First Revolution Continues Through Generations
After the liberation from a half century long Japanese colonial rule in August 1945, most, if not all, survived Korean revolutionaries from the heroic anti-Japanese armed struggle had assumed the core leadership at all levels of the party, the military, and the nation. As a very rare but politically very crucial national tradition, the continuation of military-first revolution, strategically succeeded by the following generations of the leadership for 70 years is still very much true today.
Not only the second generation but also even the third generation of the Korean revolution are already active, visible and doing great in the party, the military and the nation, of course in the nation’s top leadership as well. However, not only those people who took part in the anti-Japanese armed struggle but also many nationalistic therefore independence-minded workers, peasants, educators, intellectuals, scholars, scientists, cultural artists, even landowners, conglomerates, religious people, etc., and also many of their descendants, too, have continually participated in the honorable work of ongoing processes of nation-building for 70 years as well. It’s still very true, too.
Therefore, it seems the military-first tradition is still for sure the most important norm for all the crucial matters in the nation. So it’s not surprising at all if the military-first principle had been further reinforced from late 1990s during the nation’s most challenging period. As well-known, it was probably the harshest, most challenging therefore unbelievably suffering period. Now more than ever, there seem no more doubts that if the nation’s leadership had not been able to successively carry out that tradition to the present, the most persistently defiant “anti-imperialist, self-determined socialist nation” had definitely not been able to survive.
If so, then DPRK’s famous never-back-down tradition of their non-negotiable principles on the issues such as anti-imperialism, self-determination, socialism might have not been honored either. Even if not everybody is keenly aware of, however, now more than ever a more number of people seemed to have acquired much more knowledge and information, particularly after those criminal US/Tel Aviv-led imperialist wars against Iraq, Libya, today Syria, etc., why DPRK has chosen the military-first revolution as their sort of a “survival tool.”
As everybody knows, the early 1990s was when the Soviets and its satellite eastern European socialist block collapsed. It was also when China, too, was busy with their national strategy, i.e., the “Reform, Opening-door Policy.” It was when literally the whole world was either forcibly or voluntarily being friendly with, subjugated to, dictated by, or, if none of them, then sanctioned, demonized, isolated and even invaded, destroyed, deprived or massacred by the Washington-imposed “New World Order”.
Therefore, lately there seem not many doubts why DPRK had to take that hard choice as their own self-defensive measures such as acquiring their own nuclear deterrent power. Yes, it seems quite so. Lately, unlike the past, even in China and Russia, there seem not many disagreements anymore why DPRK had to become one of the global nuclear superpowers, so that they’d independently not only defend themselves from nonstop insane US nuclear war threats forever but also deter, stop and, if needed, defeat the Washington’s never-dying nuclear war adventures.
However, no matter what US has done for about six decades, unlike the case in the south where they’ve been still occupying ever since September 8, 1945, Washington has repeatedly failed to occupy the other half of Korean peninsula in the north. That’s true, too. US has never been able to successfully carry out any of their anti-DPRK strategies, tactics, gimmicks, whatsoever for 70 years now.
For some unbelievable reasons, Washington’s ‘regime change’ agenda has never been successfully accomplished. Therefore, the 70 years-old Washington’s anti-DPRK policy has been riddled with nonstop humiliations, setbacks, disasters, helplessness, etc. So in the history of DPRK-US confrontations, there seem so many mysteries, unanswered mysteries. Strangely enough, US has repeatedly backed down from all sorts of imperialist aggressions against its arch enemy.
An Undeniable Historical Fact: It’s the US Who Has Always Failed
Throughout the history of DPRK-US confrontation, an indisputable fact is that after 70 years of EVERYTHING and ANYTHING the US-led global imperialist coalition has done against DPRK, Washington so far has failed to accomplish its hidden agenda, i.e., to occupy the North thereby they’d not only control the whole Korean peninsula but also the entire region of Northeast Asia. No matter how the US imperialists and their paid apologists, media pundits and history books argue about the 70 years of US military occupation history in the South, Washington still hasn’t won its imperialists’ unilateral war against the North.
In other words, the OGS, the unprecedented or unheard of global empire ever existed in history, whose over 1,000 some military bases spread around the world in more than 135 nations, has done EVERYTHING and ANYTHING against a tiny, small, mostly mountainous (about 80% of its total area) and even divided nation. However, still for most in the world, the above-argued statements that US has lost its imperialist war of aggressions against DPRK wouldn’t easily make sense.
By the way, just in case, for your basic information, the size of DPRK is 46,528 square mi which is about the size of State of Ohio, 44,825 square mi. Its size is the 34th in the whole United States whose total area is 3.8 million square mi which is the 3rd/4th largest land mass in the world. Till this very day, even if US has repeatedly committed all sorts of illegal, clandestine or covert stuff, i.e., the tens of thousands of internationally-prohibited unspeakably heinous, inhumane and vicious “crimes against humanity and war crimes” against DPRK and its 25 million population for 70 years, Washington still has not been able to make even a 0.000 millimeter advance beyond the 38th Parallel.
No matter how the White House, State Dept. and their faithful corporate media pundits argue, the undeniable fact is that Washington has lost its “Imperial Ambition” (Noam Chomsky) in the intentionally-prolonged therefore yet-unfinished Korean War for over 60 years. As plainly revealed in the entire 70 years-long history of DPRK-US confrontations, Washington has repeatedly retreated from their agendas. As Galtung argued above, “the first and major retreat as their first defeat in their entire war history” Washington had to make was “the Signing of Armistice Agreement with DPRK and PRC in July 27, 1953.”
No matter how their historians write about it, the Armistice Agreement was undisputedly their major retreat or defeat from their original strategic goal to occupy the North and therefore even go further to advance beyond the Yalu River, the borderline between Korea and China. In his 2010 book “Korean War”, Prof. Cumings who “likens the indiscriminate American bombing of North Korea to genocide” writes the “United States succeeded in containment [of North Korea], establishing the 2.5-mile-wide demilitarized zone that still runs through Korea’s middle, but failed miserably at the war for the north, an attempt at Communist rollback.”
The fact that US, even if it’d brought its 15 vassal states under the cover of UN hat, had to sit with DPRK from July 10, 1951 and to talk about the ending the war, barely a year after they started the imperialist war in June 25, 1950 all the way until the 27th of July 1953, means they’d already lost the war from the early part of the Korean War.
For the sake of the record, throughout 3 years of war, US had mobilized all together about 2 million from 16 nations including its own 1.79 million US troops to the war. After the aggression of US imperialist war, more than 4-5 million Korean populations were wiped out, more than 80% of the entire nation was destroyed. Another information that should be noted that the “U.S. dropped more bombs in Korea (635,000 tons, as well as 32,557 tons of napalm) than in the entire Pacific theater during WW II.” For example, in his harsh critique of David Halberstam’s 2007 book “The Coldest Winter” in his same book “Korean War”, Cumings argues “there [in Halberstams’ book] is absolutely nothing on the atrocious massacres of this [Korean] war, or the American incendiary bombing campaigns” such as the “32,557 tons of napalm” dropped on Korean soil.
Therefore a cruel fact as a seriously challenging issue for the White House is the official acknowledgement of their defeat to Pyongyang by signing the Peace Treaty isn’t going to be a simple, easy or ordinary one. For most, if not all, the Washington’s defeat is going to be taken something as an incomprehensible event. But eventually the cruel reality will remind them, no matter they like or dislike, that’s the fact, an undeniable fact they’d refute anymore unlike they did last 60 some years. It’s like impossibility became possibility as a historical fact. The history of DPRK-US confrontation for 70 years can be summarized as simplest as in the following: the first has repeatedly succeeded while the latter has continually failed. Even in a much shorter and simpler way, it can be said as follows: Pyongyang won, Washington lost.
That’s why still most in the world will have hard time to understand what it’s all about. Even if Washington did everything, literally they’ve done everything they could, as an irrefutable historical fact, the US, as the unprecedented therefore never-existed “Only Global Superpower” in human history, has failed to move the dividing line of the Korean peninsula up toward even 0.0001 mm. The defeat therefore could be taken by many, as the OGS’ first official acknowledgement of its final demise to an incomparably asymmetrical enemy.
The asymmetric dimension of the D-U struggle is indispensable for a logically and objectively comprehensive understanding of the Korean peoples’ forcibly continued war against US for 63 years. Both internal and external differences of two nations in all aspects, I mean in every aspect, are simply incomparable. The history that Washington still hasn’t been able to finish its 70 years-old imperialist war of aggressions against DPRK is itself a defeat.
The First-ever Defeat the US Imperialists Had in Its War History, Part IV
The “Chosun People’s Revolutionary Army”, organized in April, 1932 in Andu, Manchuria, with the principle of late President Kim’s “gun-priority” as its core military strategy, had not only made his legendary anti-Japanese armed struggle continued for a dozen years until 1945 but also, together with other anti-imperialist military forces in the region such as Soviets’ Red Army and Mao Zedung-led Chinese Revolutionary Army, finally defeated the Imperial Japan and force them to unconditionally surrender in August, 1945. Even if DPRK was a newly-born nation founded in September, 1948, its newly-organized Korea People’s Army (KPA) in February 1948 nonetheless wasn’t in any way a brand new military force. For the KPA was a reorganized military organization as a regular army from an anti-imperialist guerrilla organization which had fought against the Japanese Guandong regular army for almost 20 years. But still the KPA at the time of war in June 1950 was poorly armed with very basic limited military hardware, supported by a sort of minimalist level of air and navy power.
However, the KPA, together with tens of thousands of Chinese Volunteer Army, was able to successfully deter or stop the war of US-led imperialist aggressions in 1950-53. In fact, the history should use the language defeat instead deter as a former (war-time) UN Commander Lt. General Mark W. Clark called himself in his memoir “the first general who lost the war” in the entire US history of war. By the way, as Galtung reminds, “from 1801 till today the US has fought 284 wars around the world.” Therefore, the Korean War was undoubtedly the first war the US had ever lost miserably. The defeat must have been then an unimaginable outcome for everybody. It’s sort of an impossible thing happened. A sort of like a speechless, helpless, motionless thing. However, as a payback, Koreans as a whole had to pay a very, very high price for the next 60 some years. The price I’d like to name is a Korean Holocaust.
Actually the Korean Holocaust was one of the many unknown, untold, and unrecognized Holocausts around the world. To name some globally well-known holocausts are Native American, African, Vietnamese, Palestinian Holocaust, etc. The Korean Holocaust can be plainly described as in the following way: In less than 3 years of the US-led imperialist war of aggressions, it took all together about more than 4-5 million innocent lives from both north and south, i.e., then about one sixth of its entire population of 30 million. The notorious Sinchon Massacre committed by invading US troops who briefly occupied the North Hwanghae Province of the north in late 1950 was one of the most gruesome examples why the world has to recognize the US-led imperialist war of aggressions the Korean Holocaust.
The Korean Holocaust and Other Unrecognized Holocausts
Throughout the war, there were a countless number of atrocities committed by US imperialists. Washington’s numerous “crimes against humanity” and “war crimes” should be able to suffice enough why the world should recognize the Korean War as another hidden, unrecognized and forgotten Holocaust just like the above-mentioned unrecognized holocausts of hundreds of millions of Native Americans, Africans, Palestinians, etc., etc. For example, close to the end of war, US had a secret criminal agenda through which they attempted to wipe out the northern population as much as possible. This agenda was put into place when US imperialists humiliatingly realized that they can’t win the war. So they had to do something or anything to damage the north as much as possible before they sign the then already-heavily negotiated Armistice Agreement.
The depopulation plan of the north was on the Washington’s one of the hidden agendas. Complete destructions of any remaining industrial bases, social infrastructures, rice fields, schools, kindergartens, hospitals, etc. including the then largest Soophoong Hydroelectric Dam in the north were some of the major examples. All that criminal atrocities which should have been already brought to appropriate international bodies such as the Hague-based International Criminal Court. However so far that sort of global justice in the present world’s power politics hasn’t happened yet. As expected, those terribly apparent war crimes and crimes against humanity the US imperialists committed haven’t been brought to justice yet.
Washington’s hidden agenda such as the depopulation strategy of the northern population as low as possible didn’t stop there however. As many Korea experts and scholars have already abundantly written on this issue, then Washington had another hidden agenda. It was indeed another viciously criminal strategy as if that was their last resort to make their hidden agenda to be accomplished at any cost. It was the nuclear card. Close to the end of the war, while engaging with the North working on the ongoing Armistice Agreement negotiations then already about almost two years, on the other hand, from behind the scene, Washington had made repeated threats to drop nuclear bombs in the north.
In order to further scare a more number of population as much as possible, Washington even dropped ‘dummy nuclear bombs.’ It’s another well-known war crimes Washington willfully but frantically committed that they used some of internationally-prohibited weapons of mass destruction, such as the ‘biological and chemical weapons.’ Again as expected, a more number of people would have frantically run away from the north. And Washington then was terribly right. Their hidden depopulation agenda did work great. Ever since the temporary pause of the war in July 1953, the size of the population of the north has been about a half of that of the south all along to this day.
As one of the worst symbols of human tragedy is the separation of loved family members by force and will. What Washington imperialists created then was the 70 years-continued saga of 10 million divided family members’ tragedy. It was another most naked, unavoidable, and telltale proof to uncover a countless number of Washington’s ‘crimes against humanity and war crimes’ numerously committed during the war. In fact, Washington’s nuclear war threats began as early as in November, 1950. It should be noted it began only less than half a year after they started the war of aggressions in June 25, 1950. The degree of destruction in the north was beyond imagination. It was complete. Period!
The human loss in the north was unspeakably immense. It wiped out about one third of the northern population. The imperialists’ war of [white] racism turned the whole nation in general, the North in particular into a complete ruin. Major cities like Pyongyang turned into just like the old stone age. After signing of the Armistice Agreement in July 1953, that was the very reason why Washington boastfully dared to predict the North won’t be able to rebuild it from the ashes at least “next 100 years.” The ashes they meant wasn’t untrue. It’s true. There weren’t any buildings, not even a single building left intact in major cities in the north, most specifically Pyongyang, the Capital City of DPRK, and of course other major industrialized cities like Hamhung, Wonsan, etc. in the east coast.
Korea was invaded by the international forces led by then the only nuclear power which, fully armed with the then most sophisticated military hardware such as napalm and other biological, chemical weapons of mass destruction. So it won’t be a much exaggerated description of the Korean War, as most Korea scholars like Bruce Cumings, together with globally recognized geopolitical (and Korea) issues experts like Michel Chossudovsky, Christopher Black, Finian Cunningham, Stephen Gowans, Andre Vltchek, and even a worldwide-known great painter Pablo Picaso, it was one of the most criminal, genocidal, and racist wars of aggression.
Many have argued war like the Korean War had never existed in the history of large scale international war of aggressions. Thus a claim that the Korean War should be remembered as one of the worst human holocausts, together with the above-mentioned other holocausts, in the world history isn’t much exaggerated or bloated. Of course, for the last quarter century of Songun period, the entire 25 million population of the North had immensely suffered from the shortage of almost everything, particularly food and energy. They had to pay the unimaginably high price for them to choose the path of Songun Politics.
Conclusive Remarks: Most Extreme Asymmetrical War, Cultural Imperialism, Great Suffering
In order to justify a military invasion, almost without exception, the West has used its most effective, covert but powerful lethal strategy, i.e., Cultural Imperialism (hereafter, CI) as a preset tool to prepare military invasions. One of the most predominant tools in the CI operations is the psychological warfare. Today it’s usually called the “demonization campaign.” Alvin and Heidi Toffler cite the demonization as one of its most prominent tools to justify imperialist wars in their book, War and Anti-War: In most cases it’s hardly comprehensible to figure out what’s going on in the world correctly in general, the D-U struggle in particular in the context of an inexplicable degree of great suffering the Koreans in the North had to endure for 70 years or for at least the last quarter century during the entire Songun era.
After the WWII, behind the great human suffering experienced not only in DPRK but also around the world, there have been always the US-led global imperialist wars and military interventions. The imperialists’ wars of aggressions had been also accompanied by sanctions and blockades, in other words, the nonstop war of CI. Particularly both omnipresent and all-powerful USCI, in the form of psychological warfare accompanied by demonization campaigns together with global scale economic blockades, financial sanctions, international isolations, etc., is the main culprit to have caused unimaginable degrees of great sufferings onto the hundreds of millions of peoples around the world, particularly those 25 million Koreans in the north. DPRK could be undoubtedly one of the worst victims of the CI strategy endlessly instigated by the US imperialism.
The unforgivable crime DPRK committed was to defeat the US-led international imperialist war of aggressions in the 1950-53 Korean War. For the crime of the non-negotiating principles of anti-imperialist and self-determined socialist position DPRK has defiantly taken, the population in the north had to pay a price. The price DPRK had to pay ever since the war temporarily ended in July 1953 was Washington’s endless war of CI for the following several decades.
Yes, the continued crime Koreans in the north further committed was, as briefly mentioned above, the never-back-down position on those non-negotiating principles under any circumstances even during the 2nd Arduous March period. For the sake of the record, the US-led anti-DPRK demonization campaigns, coupled with the severest degrees of economic blockades and financial sanctions, always accompanied by nonstop nuclear war threats for over 60 some years, are unprecedented in human history. It’s a never-heard-of thing in history. Since 1990s after the former Soviet Union collapsed and its satellite Eastern European socialist block as a whole had disappeared once for all, the degrees of the US-led global economic and financial sanctions and blockades had gotten even much severer.
The Washington’s coldblooded anti-DPRK CI strategy did work immensely. The 25 million Koreans in the north suffered unimaginably! However, it was still much lesser than the immediately-following period from 2006 for the next 10 years when even China and Russia had joined the US-led UNSC sanctions, in other words, the anti-DPRK USCI strategy. Since then, the scale of US-led and China- and Russia-sponsored economic and financial sanctions and blockades has been literally extended to the whole globe.
The coldblooded CI strategy for about a quarter century seemed to have made definitely the Washington’s worst enemy indescribably suffer. So, in the eyes of everybody, the final victory for the US war of CI seemed finally look so close. For the last quarter century, the US Soft Power strategy apparently seemed to have worked a lot more effectively than the Hard Power strategy against DPRK for the previous half a century. Nonetheless, no matter what US did, its worst enemy DPRK is still there at the same location. Rather, in the new world’s map of global power politics, DPRK isn’t at the same location anymore. Why and how?
The US, in a simple comparison with DPRK, is by itself an already asymmetrically incomparable power. The OGS itself is asymmetrically and unprecedentedly huge, gigantic and mammoth already. Such a gigantic therefore immeasurably overwhelming global power has never existed in human history. So a simple comparison itself is unnecessary.
For example, according to Wikipedia, US GDP is $17,419 trillion dollars (2014), while that of DPRK about $15 billion (2013). US population is about 322 million as of 2015 while that of DPRK about 25 million. US land size, the 3rd in its rank in the world, is about 3,800,000 square mi, while that of DPRK about 46,000. One of the main reasons why the D-U struggle is considered “historically unprecedented” is the asymmetrical differences in everything between the two most extremely different nations from each other. When we talk about the 70 years of D-U struggle, therefore, I believe the above-mentioned extremely two different asymmetrical sizes, numbers, volumes, etc. particularly in those visible or tangible matters between “the most anti-imperialist nation” and “the most imperialist nation” on earth should be taken into consideration.
Songun Politics, US President’s Public Admittance of Military Defeat
On January 22nd, 2015, surprise to everybody, Obama declared its military defeat against DPRK in his White House interview with the Youtube. He publicly admitted US has no more options to deal with DPRK militarily. Again for the sake of record, it was the first time ever in US history a sitting US president publicly acknowledged its military defeat in a war it’s still presently engaged with. Right after that surprising pronouncement of its military defeat, however, as if the “naked emperor” was trying to cover his naked body, again quite surprisingly to everybody, he made a sort of war declaration, i.e., the above-discussed war of CI.
When he made it, however, he seemed not look serious. It was like a talk for the talk type of gesture. Therefore, he in a way looked even childish, immature, careless or mindless when he boastfully guaranteed, US will be able to destroy DPRK from within using the above-mentioned CI (Soft Power) war. This second public announcement actually seemed to have made the world much more surprised than his public admittance of US military defeat to DPRK. When he boastfully exaggerated the so-called soft power war declaration against DPRK, I am sure even if he didn’t specifically mention in his interview, nevertheless, he exactly meant in his mind the following such as all sorts of CIA’s notoriously infamous dirty tricks like the smuggling of porno films, dirty magazines, and full of all sorts of stereotypical drug, sex and violence Hollywood movies, and so on. At the Youtube interview, he wasn’t in anyway the all-powerful Emperor of the OGS anymore. He just looked like a street thug or a youth gang.
As we’ve discussed above on the extremely asymmetrical difference between the two most arch enemies, I believe another simple comparison would be also beneficial to gain hopefully a holistic understanding of the often mysteriously incomprehensible D-U struggle. The military dimension in the history of D-U struggle would be probably the most prominent aspect in terms of the two nation’s extremely asymmetric backgrounds of military hardware. Here, again, this asymmetric factor would be able to provide people some clues to understand a DPRK’s idiom like the “impossibility turns into possibility” a bit better.
After the imperialists’ global war of aggression paused in July 27, 1953, the whole nation, particularly the North was laid in ruin from the relentlessly nonstop 3 yearlong “carpet bombings.” For example, in case of Pyongyang, there were about more than 400,000 some populations during the war. The US dropped about 420,000 bombs upon the city of Pyongyang. This criminal history alone reveals the history of a countless number of abominable US atrocities against the millions of Koreans.
Nevertheless, no matter what’d happened in the past, a series of successful both nuclear and H-bomb tests and satellite/missile launching tests and all other successful nuclear power-related tests since August 1998 till this day in July 10, 2016, seemed to have furthermore cemented the place of DPRK undoubtedly: 1) Scientifically one of the most developed, 2) Militarily one of the strongest nations on earth. With its several successful SLBM test fires in 2015 and 2016, particularly a successful launching of (both IRBM and ICBM-capable) Hwa-sung (Mars) 10th which reached all the way up to the 1413.6 km on June 23rd, together with its successful atmospheric reentry test, the level of DPRK’s most sophisticated military and scientific technologies are believed to have been further elevated to the upper highest 4-5 global nuclear superpowers club.
The principles of independence, self-reliance, self-determination, and self-defense are like the most important code words for the Koreans in the north. There is a saying: “They’ll die for the right to self-determination.” In any case, they’ll never kneel down before the imperialists or any other foreign forces. Instead they’ll fight for independence till they die. In September 9, 1948, DPRK built their nation upon the “people-oriented socialist principles.” The word Juche (self-reliance) is identified with the most sacred word late President Kim, founding father of DPRK following his over 20 years of defiant anti-Japanese guerilla warfare.
It seems what’d had been the most critical aspect in the repeatedly failed US imperialist war of aggression against DPRK is the area of Juche strategy. No matter how US imperialists argue, when they finally sit with DPRK and sign the over half a century-delayed Peace Treaty will be definitely considered as Washington’s Official Acknowledgment of Defeat to Pyongyang. In the world of imperialists, everything is decided by the logic of power. This truth has never changed throughout human history. The power decides which is right, which is wrong. The so-called ‘history’ in most cases is written by the powerful. The powerful is the authors of almost all of the written histories ever recorded in human history. Whoever grabs the power makes the history.
The concept of DPRK’s “Songun” seems one of the most straightforward language which tells the power decides everything particularly in the world of anti-imperialist and self-determined wars against the imperialism. Power decides a nation’s destiny and its relations to others. No matter how big the size, how many the population, how much the wealth, how great and diverse the cultures are, etc., however, if that nation is defenseless with its own self-reliant, independent and self-determined power to deal with any foreign forces, all that great cultures, histories, peoples, lands, national resources, and so on could be nothing. It’d be meaningless once for all. All that great values can be taken away at any moment, if not destroyed by the greedy outside forces.
After all, the 60 some years-long the US-led global economic blockades, financial sanctions, and ongoing nuclear war threats has however made DPRK paradoxically stand high at the center of today’s world’s power politics. How and why? It seems the historically-unprecedented people-centered Songun politics we’ve discussed throughout the paper is the answer. This most proud DPRK tradition for almost a century long seemed to have also created another historically-unprecedented human miracle, called the Il-sim-dan-gyul, the miracle of “all for one, one for all.” It’s no wonder why DPRK is a global nuclear superpower now while it’s continuing its undisruptive self-reliant economic development simultaneously. The author has no doubt even the Washington imperialists themselves will be able to hardly refute the following most undisputable historical fact for over 70 years: DPRK’s Songun Politics has thoroughly defeated another historically-unprecedented only global super (psychopathically great monster-like) empire!
By sharing another excerpt from Dr. Galtung, let me finally close this in many aspects incomplete therefore partial and yet-unfinished paper:
“On the Korean reunification, Galtung has suggested a confederation of the two states as a first step, followed by a federation and eventually complete incorporation as a neutral power. Despite the evolving security landscape surrounding the peninsula, he said he still believes in the idea. ‘I stand by unifying the nation with open borders and equitable cooperation, for the latter DPRK has to develop more, as they will.’ He continued, ‘I stand by first confederation of the two states, then federation, then possibly one state in the future, not based on any collapse — not a good base as we can see from Germany. And I stand by neutrality for a peninsula in the intense power field of four major powers.’” (From his June 17, 2016 interview with Korean Central Daily in Seoul)
[End]
About the Author:
Prof. Kiyul Chung, Editor-in-Chief at The 4th Media, in addition to a PhD he earned in the United States, also earned another doctoral degree, called, Doctor of Sociopolitics (SPD) from DPRK in 2014. Before he joined the Tsinghua University in Beijing, China as a Visiting Professor since September 2009, he’d been teaching in the States, South Korea and China ever since mid 1980s. While still working in China, however, since 2011, he’s been also invited to several universities in Japan such as Keio, Rikkyo and Korea University in Tokyo, Kyoto, Doshisha and Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto where he’s been lecturing as either Visiting Professor or Guest Lecturer. After obtaining a DPRK doctoral degree in the area of social science, he’s been also called into teaching at Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang, DPRK since March 2015. His articles have been published around the world since 1990s in addition to his prolific Korean articles which have been published in both North and South Korean medias including independent medias in overseas Korean communities throughout the world. Since December 1994, he’s published about 300 some articles in several Korean-language medias in both Koreas. His first English book (The Donghak Concept of God/Heaven: Religion and Social Transformation, Peter Lang Publishing Inc.) was published both in the United States and Europe in 2007. His first two Korean books were published in the South in 2009 and 2012 respectively. His two latest Korean books were also published in the North in 2015 and 2016 as well.
The 4th Media, Editor-in-Chief
Tuesday, August 2, 2016, 14:44
Beijing
[Editor’s note: The following paper in 4 Parts was originally prepared to present before the 70th Anniversary International Symposium on the occasion of Kim Il Sung University Foundation in Pyongyang, DPRK in September 29 – October 1, 2016.
The 4th Media believes Dr. Chung’s paper might be beneficial for its global readership hopefully to understand better the “anti-imperialist” struggle DPRK has endlessly waged ever since the Korean peninsula has been forcibly divided by the Washington’s “Imperial Ambition” in 1945. However, the topic the author persistently dealt or wrestled with throughout the paper should be a non-issue or a less-readily acceptable issue to many.
But, since both the worst W Bush and Obama era ever since early 2000s, specifically with the disastrous and helpless experiences from the cases of former Yugoslavia (in Clinton era), Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Syria, Yemen and many other defenseless nations around the world which had been either already destroyed into shatters and ruins or still being bombed daily for years, it seems many in the world today might have a better (or much better?) position finally to understand at least what the nonstop DPRK-US confrontation for over 70 years is all about.
Therefore, some of the core arguments Prof. Chung presented in his paper should be quite controversial and/or for many hard to swallow to agree with. The 4th Media however hopes its global readership to wrestle with a rather long paper which painstakingly dealt with certainly the most (worst) demonized nation on earth the “North Korea” of its “not-known-before (or probably never been introduced) -to the world issue”, called, the “Military-first Politics“. Best wishes!]
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On Historical Significance of “Songun (i.e., Military-First) Politics”
Part I
CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction Linguistic Analyses and Interpretations
The DPRK-US Struggle and a New Future for the Humanity
A New Russia-China Alliance and the Failed “Anglo-American Empire”
The Songun Politics is the Answer
“Parallel Strategy to Develop Simultaneously both Economy and the Nuclear Power”
Most Challenging, Unpredictable Task: “Leadership Succession”
“North Korean Collapsing Theories” Made in USA
The Game Is Over: “Collapse of Collapsing Theories” and the Peace Treaty Issue
Rapidly Growing Geopolitical Awareness on the DPRK’s Parallel Strategy
Military-First Revolution Continues Through Generations
An Undeniable Historical Fact: It’s the US Who Has Always Failed
The First-ever Defeat the US Imperialists Had in Its War History
The Korean Holocaust and Other Unrecognized Holocausts
Conclusive remarks
Most Extreme Asymmetrical War, Cultural Imperialism, Great Suffering
Songun Politics, US President’s Admittance of Military Defeat
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Preface
This short paper is prepared to present at the September 29th International Symposium on the occasion of 70th Anniversary of Kim Il Sung University Foundation in Pyongyang, Korea in 2016. The paper will attempt to explore some of the Historical Significance of Songun Politics of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, aka, “North Korea”) in the context of still ongoing 70 years-old DPRK-US confrontations.
Let’s find out first where that Korean language Songun which literally means “military-first” is originated from. The still relatively new expression has become broadly popularized ever since Chairman Kim Jong Il era which began since mid 1990s. In fact, this new sociopolitical language was a newly-reinvented wording from late President Kim Il Sung’s “Chong-dae-woo-sun” principle of the 1920s-40s. The latter literally means ‘gun(or military)-priority’. It was popular ever since Kim’s legendary ‘anti-Japanese armed struggle‘ started from late 1920s.
Let’s find out a little bit more about how DPRK officially defines the word Songun. Its official definition can be found from the nation’s official webpage. However, without changing its fundamental meanings, I tried to shorten the nation’s official definition by editing, dropping, and/or changing some of the phrases, sentences, words but not the meanings:
“Songun politics is rooted in the military-priority ideology that embodies the Juche [i.e., “self-reliance”] idea. The late president Kim Il Sung is a founder of Songun ideology … of the Songun revolution. ….. [Organizing] “Down-with-Imperialism Union” by [Kim] in October, 1926 was … to crush the Japanese imperialists. The two pistols left over by his father … [and] the “Down-with-Imperialism Union” [point] out a staunch anti-imperialist and independent stand are the starting point of Songun ideology, [the] ideology of giving precedence to arms and the military. … [The late president] Kim put forward the … armed struggle as the principal line of anti-Japanese national liberation struggle … in June 19, 1930 and thereby proclaimed the birth of Songun ideology … He formed the Anti-Japanese People’s Guerrilla Army, a first revolutionary armed force on April 25, 1932 and started the anti-Japanese armed struggle, which was a historic event announcing the beginning of the Songun revolutionary leadership. … For almost 70 years starting from the mid-1920s when he embarked on the road of revolution with a high ambition for national liberation, he held fast to the line of giving priority to arms and the military and carried out the military-priority principle through. …
In the 1970s and 1980s, [Chairman Kim Jong Il] [was] determined … to work hard to lead the efforts to strengthen the army both politically, ideologically, militarily and technically. In the 1990s, there came to be a great change in [geo]political composition of the world and the balance of [global powers]. The US and the imperialist reactionary forces intensified [unprecedentedly aggressive] military maneuvers to stifle the country…. Chairman Kim, based on a scientific analysis of the changed [geopolitical] situation, declared the Songun politics [the supreme politics of the nation] …. At the 10th Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK in September, 1998, … the Songun politics of the party is the main political mode of socialism which has begun in the era of President Kim and systemized in the hardest time of history [during Chairman Kim era]. Chairman Kim determined that the line of the Songun revolution be held fast to as long as [the US-led imperialist forces continue their aggressive policies against DPRK]. He has unfolded the Songun politics and defended socialism with the might of the Songun politics and advanced the independent cause of the mankind.”
Introduction
Linguistic Analyses and Interpretations
The philosophy of military-first(priority) Korean revolution however shouldn’t be understood as a one-dimensional and exclusive concept limited to strictly military-related matters only. Rather I believe it should be understood as a multidimensional and inclusive concept. Thus I don’t think the “military-first” philosophy mechanically means the military-only or military-centered idea. Even if it says ‘military-first’, I believe it should be interpreted something as a “people-centered military-first strategy”.
From an inclusive and multidimensional perspective, it can be also read as a people-first ideology. In other words, one can also argue the people-centered (or –first) politics as a goal which should be served by the military-first politics as a tool or methodology. In any case any language I believe mustn’t be read literally. What I am trying to do here is to interpret the language freely based upon logic, reason, being objective and truthful, instead read the language mechanically as in the case of over 2000 years-old controversial issues of “biblical literalism” in Western Christianity.
Even if both Chongdaewoosun and Songun sound different from each other, however, I believe both have exactly a very same sociopolitical and philosophical meaning. Thus they shouldn’t be read from the either-or concept. Instead it should be read from the both-and perspective. For they seem identical each other in their historical, sociopolitical and philosophical meanings.
However, what most matters here with regard to the above-discussed issues is I believe the “human-centeredness” or “people-centeredness” which is abundantly clear as in the following arguments explicated by the founder of “Songun language,” the Chairman Kim. In the discussions of Songun politics, Kim emphatically highlights its “Root is the Juche (i.e., self-reliance) thought.” However, he simultaneously identifies the Juche idea as a “human-centered thought.”
If so then, one can conclusively argue the self-reliant military-first politics is essentially a ‘people-centered politics.’ I think this human dimension is the most crucial aspect in any discussions of DPRK’s military-first politics. For example, Kim emphasizes that human dimension as in the following way, “It’s thoroughly a pro-people politics“.
Ever since late President Kim had begun his legendary anti-Japanese armed struggle since late 1920s, DPRK seems to have never dropped, negotiated and/or revised under any circumstances the above-discussed human-centered military-first revolution as their most fundamental sociopolitical and philosophical foundation of the party (Workers’ Party of Korea), the military (Korea People’s Army) and the nation (DPRK).
Based upon the above discussions, though very limited, one can also argue if the nation’s top leadership from the first generation to the present hadn’t made that human-centered military-first principle as the nation’s most fundamental strategic decision, I’d hardly imagine if DPRK’s “our style (in other words, human-centered) anti-imperialist, self-determined socialist revolution” might have survived or could have successfully advanced this far for over 70 years.
Some basic linguistic analyses and interpretations on the Songun language we’ve just discussed above hopefully could help our discussions on the main topic the Songun Politics the author will argue in the remainder of this paper.
The DPRK-US Struggle and a New Future for the Humanity
Like either all the other “collapsed” nations including the former Soviet Union, its satellite socialist Eastern European block countries or other “destroyed” states which were then prone to anti-imperialist, self-determination, socialist principles such as the former Yugoslavia in mid 1990s, Libya in mid 2010s, etc., if DPRK, too, had been either collapsed or destroyed, or both, then I believe today’s favorably changing geopolitical power relations for the sake of humanity’s new future inconceivable.
In other words, like many other failed states during the last quarter century, if DPRK, too, had failed already, then it’s quite doubtful if the following several most representative anti-imperialist struggles [as in the following cases such as Cuba, Iran, Syria, etc. for already several decades, and lately Russia and now even China against the very same enemy, i.e., the US-led global imperialist camp] could have taken place as in the way the world is witnessing today.
For the sake of discussion, here let me present a possibly very controversial argument such as If the world had not known the last 70 years of historically unprecedented DPRK-US confrontation (hereafter, D-U struggle), one could hardly think of today’s rapidly changing geopolitical power politics which I believe seem absolutely favorable for the humanity’s new future.
By the way, today, unlike the past, there seem not much disputes if one could define the D-U struggle which has endlessly continued ever since the end of WWII as the longest, the staunchest and the never-back-down anti-imperialist, self-determined socialist struggle.
I don’t think there won’t be much disagreements now if one argues the D-U struggle isn’t the One-on-One type of match but instead it’s the fight against the US-controlled world in terms of DPRK alone fighting against not only the historically unprecedented 21st Century Global Empire but also the Washington/Tel Aviv-controlled UN, IMF, World Bank, ADB, EU, NATO plus Western and other vassal states around the world for over 70 years. Therefore, the D-U struggle in the Modern World History seems the only case the history has never known in the past.
Indeed, if the still-continuing D-U struggle hadn’t succeeded this far, then I hardly doubt today’s global power politics won’t be the same as we know today. By the same token, if the D-U struggle didn’t exist, I believe today’s rapidly restructuring global power relations favorable toward the humanity’s new future won’t be the same either. For examples, BRICS, SCO, EEU, AIIB, etc. including the rapidly-merging China-Russia strategic alliance would be some of the most representative examples to support the above-discussed arguments.
Again for the sake of discussion, I dare to argue if DPRK had NOT successfully put down, repeatedly ridiculed or categorically defeated Washington’s each and every imperialist war of aggressions for 70 years, it seems also hardly improbable if one of the most representative anti-imperialist struggles in the world today like the great Russia-US confrontation (hereafter, R-U struggle) wouldn’t either have taken place as we see today.
It seems it’s now a more readily agreeable knowledge DPRK had been singled out for Washington’s psychological warfare in global scale which has been always accompanied by vicious demonization campaigns to further isolate and to cut off the DPRK completely from the international communities. Of course, Washington’s demonization campaign has been also fully supported by its endless DPRK-suffocation policy by nonstop economic blockades and financial sanctions.
Last quarter century, as well-known, even China and Russia participated in the US-led UNSC sanctions. While the world has continued to sanction DPRK, in the meantime US has also stepped up its nonstop nuclear war threats as well. However, since early 1990s, almost every nation on earth, including China and Russia until recently, wouldn’t have dared to challenge a monster-like Global Empire.
Therefore, as a most probable result from the above-mentioned all that global anti-DPRK suffocation strategies, if the “North Korea” had been already wiped out a quarter century ago like the Soviets and many other defenseless nations, I hardly doubt what the world witnesses today in the 21st Century global power politics wouldn’t be same as we know these days.
I don’t think it’d be unnecessarily much difficult to understand what we’re talking about here if we’d remember what’d happened to, for example, the 1990s’ Russia. We all remember what’d happened to Russia then. The world particularly remembers what’d happened to Russia right after the former Soviet Union was completely dissolved in early 1990s. What’d happened to Russia then was well summarized in a book, titled, “Disaster Capitalism” written by a world-renowned lady journalist in US, Naomi Klein.
As she powerfully argued in her 1997 best-seller book, the world remembers how the then thoroughly defeated, humiliated, and downgraded Russia (like a ‘2nd class state’ from once one of the most powerful, the greatest and the internationally-most-respected nations in the world) and most of its great national wealth as a whole had been robbed by the US-controlled NATO powers.
Of course, all that American-style “highway robbery”, nicknamed lately as ‘Bankster Imperialism”, had been carried out by Wall Street’s so-called “neoliberal economic advisors,” often called then the “Chicago Boys.” Klein argues the whole Russia then was systematically robbed by the West.
However, only after a short quarter century, as a big surprise to the world, the great Russia is back. She is amazingly back now in full force. President Vladimir Putin is there. He’s right there standing tall not only for a new future of his great nation but also for a world’s new future.
A New Russia-China Alliance and the Failed “Anglo-American Empire”
As we’ve discussed above, China-US confrontation (hereafter, C-U struggle) won’t be much different from the R-U struggle either, though there seem varied differences between the two nations’ anti-imperialist struggles against the same US-controlled world.
For more than a quarter century, in the name of “reform, opening door policy,” no matter what, China had danced in a way with the US, i.e., the real “Evil Empire” the term the former late US president Ronald Reagan had used against the former Soviet Union in 1980s. By the way, if he’d used it to name his own mother nation instead, the once-globally-popularized infamous ‘Evil Empire’ term might have earned much supports and even some respects from around the world.
For some periods in the past, many Chinese both in the leadership and the ordinary people seemed to haven’t fully realized how evil that empire is. But lately, China, too, seems to have further deeply realized what kind of satanic Empire they’d been dancing with for about 30 some years is all about. A more serious geopolitical realization seems to have come in the minds of national leadership in the wake of the US-instigated, -manufactured and further -inflamed South China Sea (SCS) conflicts.
It seems a more number of people have come to realize how cunning, vicious and satanic Washington’s divide-and-conquer strategy is all about as they see in the case of SCS conflict. For example, US has deceitfully played with China’s most South East Asian neighbors, like specifically Vietnam and the Philippines, go against China. Again lately a lot more number of Chinese people seem to have much more seriously figured out how anxious, frantic and even satanic the psychopathic Zionists-controlled Washington is all about.
No matter what, how and why, even if they had once danced with the US, the more China seems to have realized who they’d danced with, the more Beijing seems unwilling to date with Washington any longer.
For the former under any circumstances isn’t the evil empire in anyway like the latter. The two nations fundamentally differ from each other almost in everything. Therefore, from the very beginning since early 1980s, their unlikely (in other words, incongruous, dubious or inconceivable) honeymoon seemed to have been destined not to succeed for long. China is a fundamentally different nation from the way USA had been built upon the full of overflowing bloods of over 100 million Native Americans.
The utterly blood-soaked European colonialists for over 5 centuries since 1492 had not only created a massive continental “blood sea” covering the whole (North, Central, South and the Caribbean islands) Americas but also made numerous more blood seas all over the world such as the Philippines since late 19th Century, Korea since mid 20th Century, Vietnam in the first latter part of 20th Century, Iraq both in late 20th and early 21st Century, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Yemen all in early 21st Century. China never be the same sort of nation like the US by any standard.
By nature, therefore, as if nothing had happened, I don’t think China can further continue to dance with that kind of utterly satanic entity anymore. So it seems the rapidly growing China-Russia alliance is a right answer for China, Russia and the whole world. However, the new China-Russia alliance definitely is never going to be like the now broken, failed, dismantled 70 years-old “Anglo-American Empire” either. Now as well-known, the once most powerful, globally-encompassing, strongest strategic alliance for over half a century is in a free fall situation at the moment.
Anyway a never-imaginable event like the June 2016 Brexit, as one of the most mammoth geopolitical earthquakes in 21st Century specifically in terms of today’s evermore unpredictable geopolitical power reshufflings, had never taken place ever since WWII. There is no doubt, even if hell (of a) lot of and all sorts of anti-Brexit political maneuvers by Washington/Tel Aviv-instigated pro-EU forces will be definitely unfolded for an unknown period, it’ll however most likely change, disrupt, and fundamentally shatter the over 500 years-old Western Imperialist alliance in a major way.
The C-U struggle therefore should be dealt from the above-discussed evermore fluctuating geopolitical power politics of the 21st Century which was just most symbolically culminated in the Brexit vote.
What I’ve been arguing above with regard to both R-U and C-U struggle is about the indispensable role the historic D-U struggle had played for about a quarter century. During that time, as a matter of fact, there was literally nobody around, except a few but not strong enough to wage a global war, i.e., the world’s anti-imperialist, self-determined and socialist war against the then Only Global Superpower(OGS).
There is no doubt that a quarter century-long global war in 1990s-2000s was waged almost all by DPRK alone. However, the most important thing NOW is DPRK’s struggle is not alone anymore. Since Russia and China have recently joined the global war, today’s geopolitical power politics, either centered around or towards the principles of anti-imperialism and self-determination at least, isn’t the same anymore.
It seems after the sovereign, oil-rich and socialist Libya was destroyed by US/NATO war criminals, both R-U and C-U struggles, as some of the most prominent but still relatively new in the world’s anti-imperialist struggles, seemed to have finally taken the Satanic Nature of Zionist-controlled Washington/Tel Aviv imperialist alliance a lot more seriously than before.
It seems however the degrees of both nations’ anti-imperialist struggles against the same US-controlled world still seem not the same as that of DPRK. But Third World’s most representative anti-imperialist struggles like Cuba, Iran, Syria, etc. have already taken the “enemy of the humanity” seriously almost same as that of DPRK a long time ago.
As we’ve just discussed above, thus, one can cautiously predict the above-mentioned world’s most representative self-determined anti-imperialist struggles against the same enemy, the 21st Century Global Empire seem to have fundamentally changed the future characteristics of global power politics irreversibly.
That fundamentally irreversible change can be most symbolically characterized as in the way as the once most powerful and omnipresent Washington power is now rapidly declining. Therefore, the OGS definitely doesn’t exist anymore. There is no such thing anymore. The OGS is lost. It’s gone already once for all. How? And why?
The Songun Politics is the Answer, Part II
Based upon the above-argued analyses, interpretations, and readings of today’s global power politics and of course the over 500 years-old history of Western Imperialism which is represented by Washington/Tel Aviv today, the answer is I believe the 70 years-old history of D-U struggle. In other words, DPRK’s “almost a century-old Songun Politics” is the answer.
The still-continued D-U struggle itself means the unstoppably declining US position in today’s global power relations. In fact, the irrecoverable deterioration of US power in D-U struggle has begun way back in early 1990s. The Geneva “DPRK-US Basic Agreements” (hereafter, DUBA) signed in October 1994, as one of the most surprising therefore absolutely unimaginable political event, I believe, was one of the most historical turning points in the late 20th Century’s geopolitical power struggles.
What I am talking about here is the great geopolitical timing of the event. The DUBA timing in early 1990s was most strikingly significant. As well-known, it was when, starting with the Soviets, almost every nation on earth, nations prone to anti-imperialist socialism, began to either collapse, being destroyed or thrown into all sorts of Washington-instigated ‘regime change’ crises one after another.
It was when almost every nation had to behave before the OGS. Otherwise no nation was immune either from economic sanctions or military interventions, or from both unilaterally imposed by that real evil empire. However, in the case of DPRK, even if the US had done everything for 70 years in maximum, the last quarter century in minimum, the Washington hadn’t been able to even cross the 38th Parallel Line for a 0.00001 mm toward the north.
Therefore, as the author of this paper has argued in numerous times at least since December 27, 2011, I’d still contend US is already a finished empire. This argument is based upon a numerous number of undeniable historical facts that Washington hasn’t been able to do anything what it’d wanted against DPRK throughout the unbelievable history of 70 years-old D-U struggle.
As said above, for US, the still continuing D-U struggle itself means exactly, as in the language of Noam Chomsky, “The Failed State”. In a way, the longer the D-U struggle continues, the more the already finished therefore irrecoverably failed empire looks even furthermore completely defeated.
For some known and unknown reasons, DPRK in its 70 years of ongoing struggles against the most asymmetrically uneven counterpart in every aspect has inexplicably or mysteriously defeated, humiliated, ridiculed the OGS at every turn.
It’s like, therefore, as if the DPRK, at the expense of its own 25 million populations’ great suffering for several decades, had however prepared a new future for the world in which someday, hopefully not far down the road but in near future, all nations can live in peace with their neighbors thereby they’d harmoniously work together for each other’s co-prosperity without getting afraid of being threatened anymore from the most destructive real evil empire the humanity has never known before.
So one can even further arguably claim that the historic D-U struggle in a way has humbly presented a new future for the whole humanity by radically changing or restructuring the early 21st Century’s global power politics. One can call it the 21st Century Global Struggle between the DPRK, Russia and China-led International Anti-Imperialist and Self-determination Camp and the US/Tel Aviv-controlled world. The latter of course represent the over 500 years-old Western Imperialists.
Needless to say their expendable therefore anytime disposable clients, puppets, or vassals like Saudi, Turkey, Tokyo, South Korea and many others around the world are in the latter camp as well. By the way, though some may disagree, I believe by now one should be able to even contend the 70 years-old D-U struggle has both symbolically and practically represented the world’s most anti-imperialist self-determined socialist struggles in the forefront of the 20th and 21st Century.
Therefore, particularly after the KWP’s 7th Party Congress in May 2016, I don’t think seemingly there are still a lot more number of people further doubt as they did in the past if one conclusively argues DPRK is undeniably the most representative nation in today’s world’s anti-imperialist self-determined socialist struggles against the US-controlled world.
“Parallel Strategy to Develop Simultaneously both Economy and the Nuclear Power”
Let’s now try to find out, if possible, some logical clues and philosophical answers why we should have read that military-first language in the way as we’ve discussed from the very beginning of this paper. According to Chairman Kim’s definitions, it’s obvious the goal of the military-first principle isn’t the military.
Actually to defend, protect and further develop their already-firmly built-in self-determined, anti-imperialist and the people-centered socialist nation is its goal. So one should firstly conclude with a more assurance that the fundamental goal the military-first revolution solely aims for is the people, not the military.
In other words, unless a nation’s self-defensive military capability is assuredly strong enough to deter, stop, if needed, defeat any types of foreign military interventions, the nation’s sovereignty, dignity and security won’t be sufficiently warranted. As a result, the people’s security, wellbeing, and happiness won’t be either protected.
Therefore, one can find some logically-justifiable reasons why DPRK has chosen that most challenging but most guaranteed and the surest path both for the future of nation and the people. So one can again conclusively argue now a lot more comfortably the military-first revolution is for the people, not for the military.
The people is the goal, the military the tool as a methodology. Only thereafter the nation’s undisrupted economic developments can be also simultaneously ensured. That’s why I believe the Songun revolution, no matter how hard it was both in the beginning and throughout the process, as Chairman Kim once said, had been chosen as “the supreme politics of the nation.”
That supreme politics during the already-mentioned 2nd Arduous March, i.e., the most challenging period at the expense of people’s unimaginably great hardship, suffering and shortage of everything for about a quarter century, however, had been able to successfully prepare for the nation’s next generation of the leadership to be able to launch a further emboldened, ambitious, and critical strategy, called the “Parallel Strategy to Develop both Economy and the Nuclear Power Simultaneously” (hereafter, Parallel Strategy or PS).
DPRK argues, though still many would hardly agree, they believe the PS only should be able to safeguard both nation’s security, people’s wellbeing and nation’s undisruptive economic prosperity simultaneously. Therefore, it should be DPRK’s only but best choice which they argue has been also scientifically proven as the most justifiable strategy for them to stick with until they’d accomplish their most ambitious goals, i.e., both the economy and the nation’s security simultaneously.
Thus, the Parallel Strategy logically seems the most justifiable choice for them to live with, no matter how others argue. Anyway this newly-revised national strategy, with much heavier emphasis on the economic development, is already one of the most symbolic political slogans of the Kim Jong Eun era.
In other words, the elder Chairman Kim’s “hard-chosen Songun politics” had after all successfully achieved its most crucial however then regarded by most in the world as an “impossible therefore unachievable” goal to defend the nation from all sorts of US-led imperialists’ ‘regime change’ strategies.
But that “impossible goal” the Songun politics aimed most while the US-controlled world flatly dismissed as an unachievable one however had been already far surpassingly accomplished. In other words, The Songun politics had not only defended the nation but also, no matter how outside world argues, made DPRK obtained a nuclear deterrent capability.
Therefore, one can point out here in the discussions of Songun politics a most historical paradox, probably one of the most unbelievable paradoxes in the 21st Century world’s power politics.
The paradox is it’s the US imperialists whose 70 years-old anti-DPRK strategy had after all assisted DPRK become a nuclear power. What a great paradox it is! It’d have been probably one of the most unexpected outcomes for everybody, particularly for the US imperialists.
It must have been a worst nightmare for the Washington war planners to swallow as a new reality already for almost 20 years now ever since DPRK had successfully launched its first satellite into the orbit in August 1998. The DPRK’s first successful nuclear bomb test in 2006 was another nightmare for the Washington war planners. Those worst nightmares for US however must have been paradoxically a great blessing for DPRK.
For the latter has been undoubtedly threatened by US nuclear war threats for over 60 some years ever since Washington failed to occupy the north in its 1950-53 imperialist war of aggressions. Therefore, I don’t think there are still a lot of people who’d dare to argue on this undeniable history that the nuclear DPRK must be one of the greatest paradoxes in the world history.
The nuclear DPRK is doubtlessly one of the worst and the most miserable disasters in US war history. The nuclear DPRK itself in fact means the 70 years-long D-U struggle is already over, unless the psychopathic insanity in Washington is beyond control. What it means also is the Peace Treaty as the only solution which could peacefully end the 66 years-long worst enemy relationship.
Most Challenging, Unpredictable Task: “Leadership Succession”
However, in addition to the military-first politics’ first and foremost crucial goal to defend the nation, there was another task, probably the most challenging task which hadn’t been however undeclared until last minutes. But in many aspects it might have been in a way much more challenging and unpredictable task than those stated crucial goals of Songun politics. Another most crucial but most challenging therefore extremely unpredictable task was the “leadership succession.
However, it had been also successfully accomplished already. After 5 years passed since December 2011, everybody seemed to have realized how absolutely and indispensably crucial task that undeclared goal was. It was the task to prepare the nation’s next leadership who’d take the people under any circumstances into a much better, far better future based upon the same revolutionary tradition, i.e., the people-centered military-first politics.
What ordinary population in DPRK seemed to have most appreciated, in humble memories of their “beloved great leader General Kim Jong Il”, was that undeclared task of “revolutionary leadership succession” had been wonderfully prepared therefore superbly accomplished. The 5 years of seemingly par excellence leadership performed by the “new supreme leader” Kim Jong Eun seems to have made undoubtedly the world quite surprised. It’d be the reason why lately the world seems less hear the US-manufactured quite noisy, ugly and disrespectful defamation campaigns against the new DPRK leadership.
However, the world still is noisy with the so-called “North Korean human rights” issues the lately furthermore psychopathic Washington [by the way, for the sake of the discussion, the US as the historically unprecedented case, unbelievably most hypocritical and shameless entity ever existed in human history] habitually argues. What it means however is Washington has no more cards to use in its imperialist war against DPRK other than throwing out those outdated campaigns of demonization.
It’s definitely another undeniable proof that Washington has miserably failed, completely lost, and now even don’t know what to do about its failed “Anti-North Korea Policy”. When Washington habitually talks about Others ‘human rights abuse issues’, it means they are mentally ill. Severely ill! It’s an abominable illness. They’re helplessly ill.
However, no matter what Washington did, at least with regard to the issue of nation’s leadership succession, particularly after the quite historic and very successful 7th Party Congress in May 2016, there seem not much disagreements about the leadership succession issue anymore.
Seemingly there are apparently a lot more, regardless of like or dislike, supportive or unsupportive, almost universally-shared recognitions of Chairman Kim’s surprisingly far surpassing leadership skills and capabilities which seemed to have gone way beyond most people’s assessments, expectations, and predictions.
A more number of top leaders in many nations around the world, specifically now even China and Russia, of course many third world nations like Cuba, Iran, Syria, etc., already seemed to have respectfully recognized this undeniable fact. It’d be one of the main reasons why the world lately won’t hear much those stereotypically insane, cynical, ill-willed, skeptical and senseless noises against DPRK anymore.
Even if 5 years of nonstop reporting had been relentlessly made on the DPRK’s new leadership by the world’s most mainstream media mostly with unfavorable, unsupportive, often defamatory contents, however, the international standing of the new Chairman Kim as DPRK’s supreme leader seems to have been dramatically improved right after the successfully completed and very impressive 7th Party Congress.
What it means I believe is many in the world today in a way respectfully recognize the most challenging leadership succession task wonderfully completed now. Even if all sorts of both internal and external challenges, pressures, threats, etc., must have been heavily, if not overwhelmingly, placed upon his shoulder, however, it seems the nation’s most challenging task of leadership succession had been masterfully accomplished.
By launching the Parallel Strategy under the new leadership, DPRK’s almost a century-long tradition of people-centered military first politics has been also masterfully succeeded. It’s been already reported that it’s now even firmly built into the nation’s Constitution since 2013. What it means is the nation’s most urgent and most challenging tasks both in economic and national security matters have been also masterfully completed within that short period by the third generation of the nation’s new leadership as well.
Therefore, particularly today, it seems many would readily or more comfortably agree with the fact that the military-first politics has been the very reason all along why and how DPRK has not only survived but also successfully deterred the nonstop US-led imperialist war of aggressions for 70 years.
One can hardly question why the new DPRK leadership defines the Parallel Strategy as an absolutely justifiable strategy and then even in 2013 has constitutionalized it. Now, more than ever, seemingly almost everybody in the nation predict their future with a sense of absolute confidence, in addition to their nation’s security, that the new supreme leadership will be able to complete another most urgent task under any circumstances, i.e., the building an economically stronger and advanced nation.
“North Korean Collapsing Theories” Made in USA, Part III
The last quarter century of DPRK history can be characterized as in the following languages, the ‘extreme poverty, hunger thereby indescribably great suffering.’ DPRK population as a whole had to pay an immeasurable price for its never-back-down anti-imperialist principle to fight defiantly monster-like global empire for 70 years.
So it’d to breathlessly face endless challenges which had caused endless sufferings forever upon its entire population. The Songun period, as mentioned above already a couple of times, for about a quarter century, it’d been also called 2nd Arduous March which usually meant the period of unimaginable, indescribable, unthinkable and unspeakable sufferings for the entire population in the north.
The timing of the most challenging period for DPRK was coincidentally overlapped with the timing of a series of simultaneously collapsing states, starting with the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellite socialist states. The socialist China in the meantime was so busy then with its new socioeconomic, cultural and political experiment, i.e., the ‘Chinese-style socialist market economy’, also called “Reform and Opening Door Policy” which began with the China-US normalization in 1979.
The timing of all the above-mentioned world’s major earthquake-like geopolitical power politics taking place was also coincided with the sudden but peaceful departure of the DPRK founder President Kim Il Sung at 82 in July 8, 1994. That timing was also tragically coincided with the subsequently following 5-6 years of consecutive major natural disasters.
All that timing then made almost everybody in the world assume the “North Korea will soon collapse” within a foreseeable future. Many in 1990s comfortably predicted its imminent collapse with some specific timings starting with the “2-3 months or up to 6 months” theory. When the widely-predicted imminent collapse didn’t happen within that specific time periods, they came up with another time frame such as the “within 2-3 years” of collapse theory.
But after all, during that quarter century-long Arduous March period, no matter what US imperialists did and no matter how great the suffering was in the north, Washington failed to destroy DPRK. US failed to force the ‘regime change’ in the north. The predicted collapse the world sang for a quarter century however didn’t happen. How? And why?
The simplest answer to that question is the Songun politics which has made the US endlessly failed to implement its “regime change” agenda in the north. During a YouTube interview in January 22, 2015, Obama claimed “the North Korea is the most isolated, the most sanctioned, the most cut-off nation on Earth”.
Yes, even if he didn’t have any idea what he was talking about and what it meant to be with regard to the unspeakable suffering it’d caused upon the DPRK population of 25 million, he was however correct to say that.
Indeed, as he said, DPRK, for about a quarter century, was exactly like that. So many call what DPRK is all about now an unimaginable miracle. Indeed, what a great miracle it is! No matter what the Washington/Tel Aviv-controlled world did, it’s absolutely sure the global empire has endlessly lost anyway.
The 70 years-old global scale war against the other end, i.e., asymmetrically look so small on a tiny land with extremely limited basic resources such as food, electricity and energy, with a small population, etc. etc. versus the world’s most and unprecedentedly gigantic, humongous, mammoth empire the humanity has never known before in its entire history.
The Songun politics therefore must be the main culprit in the eyes of global imperialists. That’s why the more and more getting psychopathic Washington, the more and more unimaginably insane Park in Seoul, and the more and more cunningly opportunistic cowardice in Tokyo all in unison have adamantly opposed to the introduction of Parallel Strategy.
The Game Is Over: “Collapse of Collapsing Theories” and the Peace Treaty Issue
The following excerpt is from one of the most recent interviews by Dr. Johan Galtung, a globally-renowned scholar, peace activist, founder of the Peace Research Institute in Oslo, with a conservative daily newspaper in Seoul. For the sake of our discussion, I’m going to share some of his ideas and thoughts below:
“…….. Despite Pyongyang’s unabated nuclear ambitions, Seoul should seek to craft an ‘exit strategy’ to defuse cross-border tension away from the current focus on sanctions and pressure, … he noted that the South Korean Park Geun-hye [regime], with its hardline stance against the North, should now take a different approach. … I think it is more Washington’s rather than Seoul’s policy, hence no exit strategy. … The U.S. policy from 1953 on has been to hope for and stimulate a DPRK (North Korea) collapse, hugely underestimating their strength. DPRK has demanded a peace treaty, normal relations, and a nuclear free Korean Peninsula, and has run out of patience. … the [so-called] ‘North Korea Collapse Theory’ will be collapsed before [if] the “North Korea” as a nation [ever does so] … Ever since 1812 until 1953, the United States had won all the wars it fought. However, for the first time, it didn’t win the war it fought against the newly-born nation, i.e., Democratic People’s Republic of Korea(DPRK). The US lost its war to DPRK in 1950-53. The US can’t stand with that humiliated historical fact in which they didn’t win the war. By the way, from 1801 to today the US has endlessly engaged more than 284 times in the wars around the world. ……”
As mentioned above, nonetheless, the third generation of the nation’s new leadership has masterfully implemented DPRK’s almost a century-long human-centered military first tradition into the practical work. What it means is the 70 years-old D-U struggle is over! The game is over! In other words, it meant the unilaterally-imposed 70 years of uneven structure of D-U struggle has fundamentally changed with a new reality, i.e., DPRK had undoubtedly acquired a sufficient nuclear deterrent power already.
Indeed, within such a short 5-year period, under the masterful leadership performed by Chairman Kim, it seems DPRK must have successfully acquired scientifically one of the world’s most sophisticated nuclear technologies today. In order to further develop its nuclear-related technologies such as “diversification, miniaturization and weight lightening” skills, he seems to have made extraordinary efforts.
The more US threatens DPRK, as the latter argues always, the more its “already most sophisticated strategic nuclear weapons and capabilities” seems evermore being further improved to “an unlimited level.” A series of following successful nuclear- and missile/rocket-related tests in recent years, particularly the 2015 and 2016 consecutive years are some good examples. Last year to name a few are specifically ICBM, SLBM, etc.
This year to name several tests are most importantly starting with the H-bomb in January and afterwards next several months, followed by IRBM-ICBM, SLBM, EMP, Atmospheric Reentry, Rocket Solid Fuel, New Type of ICBM Ground Expulsion Engine, etc. As arguably contended already, the above-exampled nuclear and rocket/missile-related technologies have fundamentally changed the above-mentioned uneven structure of the 70 years-old D-U struggle.
Due to the above-discussed fundamental structural change in D-U struggle which has consequently resulted the fundamental status change of DPRK in the world power politics, one could therefore conclude the 64 years-delayed but now unavoidably-impending (or ‘must-be’) process of signing the Peace Treaty seems to have finally begun in an irreversible way.
For US, many already have argued, it seems today there is no more time and space left for Washington to run away, as they did last 60 some years, from that new reality any longer. The impending process of signing the Peace Treaty between DPRK and US is something like a dream come true. It’s not a fiction. Not an illusion. It’s a new reality. Therefore, sooner or later, as in recent years many argue more comfortably, this dream may indeed come true. The evermore further developed DPRK’s nuclear technology and continued self-reliant economic development seem to have made US out of more choices but to respond accordingly.
In any case, as a matter of fact, the Washington’s defeat to Pyongyang is not a mere defeat in an ordinary military warfare. Neither was it a defeat in a “One-on-One” warfare, nor a defeat from a just onetime fighting in a single battle. Rather it’s the series of nonstop, multiple and ongoing defeats for the duration of 70 years in the form of repeated compromises, concessions and retreats. Washington’s defeat in fact is the defeat of the US-controlled world as a whole.
It’s the defeat of the US-ruled world which has relentlessly imposed its 70 years of long and deadly serious ‘total warfare’ against a single and a very small entity in multiple fronts, almost in all areas such as: 1) military (both psychological and military hardware); 2) economy; 3) culture, 4) socio-politics; 5) science; and 6) evermore changing world’s power politics, etc. It’s been undeniably, undoubtedly and undisputedly an “all-out war” for that many long decades.
The D-U struggle therefore one can cautiously predict is finally about to come to an official end by finally implementing the 1953 agreement, i.e., the signing of Peace Treaty, which was made officially among 3 warring parties between DPRK-China and US. However, it’s not going to be freely given by a benevolent party. In any case, the Washington imperialists voluntarily won’t do that. Therefore, the Peace Treaty is something “our peoples in north, south and overseas” all together must obtain by force. The force which means the nuclear power of the north will continually force the US all the way through until they sit and sign the paper.
Today not only the world but also the people themselves in DPRK seem all amazed to watch that urgent and most wanted task the world has often dismissed impossible is being, day by day, month by month, and year after year, unbelievably unfolded before their eyes. The economic development seems, with an unimaginable speed, to have continued from a much more improved, strengthened but most importantly scientifically assured position than the past.
The rapid economic development at least last several years has been reportedly due to those saved 30% military expenditure since somewhere around 2006 when DPRK successfully tested their first nuclear bomb in October. Before 2006, according to another inside but credible report on the economy with regard to the military spending, DPRK’s national defense bill was up to around 33% in their entire national budget.
However, after the 2006’s first successful nuclear bomb test, again according to a DPRK inside information, without being further afraid of US nuclear attacks they’d endlessly feared for well over half a century ever since they’ve been threatened being bombed in November 1950, DPRK finally was able to relocate their nation’s financial resources to the areas of human wellbeing, in other words, the longtime-delayed economic development.
Surprise to most, even the outside world’s mainstream media outlets can’t hide or refute anymore, DPRK’s once almost-unachievable goal to become both economically and militarily much stronger simultaneously has been already achieved in many aspects. However, no matter what’s happened, most so-called “Korea experts” and mainstream media pundits mainly in Washington and Tokyo but most prominently the psychopathic Park in Seoul have reputed the Parallel Strategy impossible or unachievable.
Like the Washington neocon psychopaths, the equally psychopathic Park regime in the south is a worst example as the worst-ever nightmare for the entire nation and Northeast Asia as a whole. No matter how much rapidly the situation in the north has changed, those sick people’s ill-willed stereotypical predictions of “collapse theory” have never changed. Their groundless, ideologically-twisted and/or a fiction-like wishful predictions of “North Korean soon-to-be-collapsing” theories have never been dropped.
People like the severely psychopathic Park in Seoul live in a fictitious world: An illusion replaces a reality. Nonetheless, for decades, all their baseless, wishful therefore irresponsible North Korean collapse theories have been discarded, humiliated or at least chastened all along. In fact, the longer DPRK has continued to prosper under any circumstances, the more all sorts of psychopathic insanities in Washington, Tokyo, and Seoul have become further severer.
The longer Washington desperately repeats its evermore failed psychological warfare against DPRK in the form of typical demonization campaigns such as so-called “human rights abuse, money laundering, drug trade, political prisoner camps,” etc. the more their unscientifically wishful predictions of ‘collapsing theories’ are trashed out. Those trash-like groundless accusations against DPRK is lately furthermore disgracefully dismissed.
Lately a more number of people even in Washington seem stay away from those ill-willed wishful predictions of various “North Korean” collapsing theories. So once again one can assuredly conclude the Songun politics during the most challenging Arduous March era had however successfully prepared the third generation of nation’s leadership to be able to launch its absolutely justifiable Parallel Strategy. It seems Dr. Galtung wasn’t wrong when he fascinatingly phrased on all those ill-willed collapsing theories will collapse first.
Rapidly Growing Geopolitical Awareness on the DPRK’s Parallel Strategy
Thus, as we’ve already discussed above from the very beginning of this paper, I do still believe the military-first concept shouldn’t be mechanically read as a one-dimensional exclusive concept in terms of the military-only or –limited concept. But it instead should be interpreted inclusively from a multidimensional background within the context of people-centered military strategy, not vice versa. I believe it’s now undeniably proven to the world that this human-centered military-first politics as a nation’s supreme strategy has not only safeguarded DPRK’s national security but also their people’s wellbeing.
This sort of new geopolitical awareness among some global populations seems to have grown to a much higher level, so that they’d understand a bit better how and why DPRK has not only survived but also been able to continue its undisruptive self-reliant economic developments, particularly ever since the new Chairman Kim has taken the nation’s supreme leadership in late 2011. Like last 60 some years, under the 3rd new leadership, DPRK is still being blockaded economically, sanctioned financially, isolated internationally, and threatened militarily with nonstop nuclear war threats. However, no matter what, DPRK’s undisruptive economic development has been exponentially further improved.
Coincidentally, the timing of the arrival of Kim Jong Eun era was identical with the sudden demise of sovereign oil-rich Libya in late 2011. It was one of the strategic outcomes from US/Tel Aviv-instigated “regime change” strategies which began in Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, Ukraine and throughout the world. This timing element however seems to have worked paradoxically as a quite positive factor for the strategically identical timing of the introduction of Parallel Strategy launched by the third generation of the nation’s new leadership to the world in 2013.
It was when those nations who were prone to self-determined anti-imperialist principles, particularly China and Russia had painstakingly or regrettably realized an important political lesson that unless a sovereign nation, by any means necessary, can defend itself independently with its own self-defensive measures, its destiny can be abruptly taken away by outside forces and disappeared forever. Both Iraq and Libya were in turn destroyed right after they had been forced or volunteered to abandon their self-defensive military capabilities.
The US-led NATO’s war crimes and crimes against humanity which have been repeatedly committed in nations like Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, Sudan in the past, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen today have never been checked, stopped and/or punished. Of course, for more than half a century, another most notoriously war crimes and crimes against humanity which have been unstoppably committed against Palestinians by the Washington-supported Israeli Zionists for more than half a century haven’t been checked, stopped and/or punished either.
But most importantly it seems the most recent Iraqi and Libyan lesson must have made the world learn a very serious political lesson. Therefore, in a way, the timing of the introduction of Parallel Strategy seemed favorable. One could point out it was sort of a perfect timing in terms of more favorable, supportive, understandable political environments, recognitions and solidarities from around the world in general, most third world nations in particular.
Therefore, a more number of people seem to have figured out much better why and how DPRK for that many long years could have categorically defeated US imperialist war of aggressions at every turn. It seems now therefore much difficult for the world to negate an undeniable historical fact that the US is the one who’s been repeatedly ridiculed by an extremely asymmetrical enemy.
Lately therefore it seems now less controversial or less disputable on the question if DPRK’s people-centered Songun revolution had not only saved the nation from the madness of psychopathic Washington imperialists and its vassal states like Tokyo and South Korea but also enabled the nation dramatically to have become now “a global nuclear superpower.” So it’s logically quite understandable if the Songun politics is still the most important norm for all the major both national and international issues in DPRK. It seems in the North the Songun philosophy is like a most revered norm for the entire population.
For example, even in the third national leadership era, almost the century-long tradition of military-priority revolution hasn’t changed a bit. It instead in Kim Jong Eun era had been strategically further reinforced, restructured and reinvigorated with a much heavier emphasis on the economic development than the past. Therefore, lately the Parallel Strategy seems more like a globally-recognized public knowledge. After the 7th Party Congress it’s become much more so. As noted above, it’s been already legally enshrined in the newly-revised Preface of the Korea Workers’ Party Rules.
No matter whether outside world supports or not, it seems after the 7th Party Congress a more number of people in the world would readily agree with the notion that the military-first revolution was, is and will be the most fundamental factor how and why DPRK has not only survived but also in such a short quarter century time period mysteriously become “a global nuclear superpower”. For many remember it’s all happened while DPRK has endlessly been blockaded economically, sanctioned financially, and threatened by the most aggressive, arrogant and psychopathic nuclear-armed nation on earth.
Military-First Revolution Continues Through Generations
After the liberation from a half century long Japanese colonial rule in August 1945, most, if not all, survived Korean revolutionaries from the heroic anti-Japanese armed struggle had assumed the core leadership at all levels of the party, the military, and the nation. As a very rare but politically very crucial national tradition, the continuation of military-first revolution, strategically succeeded by the following generations of the leadership for 70 years is still very much true today.
Not only the second generation but also even the third generation of the Korean revolution are already active, visible and doing great in the party, the military and the nation, of course in the nation’s top leadership as well. However, not only those people who took part in the anti-Japanese armed struggle but also many nationalistic therefore independence-minded workers, peasants, educators, intellectuals, scholars, scientists, cultural artists, even landowners, conglomerates, religious people, etc., and also many of their descendants, too, have continually participated in the honorable work of ongoing processes of nation-building for 70 years as well. It’s still very true, too.
Therefore, it seems the military-first tradition is still for sure the most important norm for all the crucial matters in the nation. So it’s not surprising at all if the military-first principle had been further reinforced from late 1990s during the nation’s most challenging period. As well-known, it was probably the harshest, most challenging therefore unbelievably suffering period. Now more than ever, there seem no more doubts that if the nation’s leadership had not been able to successively carry out that tradition to the present, the most persistently defiant “anti-imperialist, self-determined socialist nation” had definitely not been able to survive.
If so, then DPRK’s famous never-back-down tradition of their non-negotiable principles on the issues such as anti-imperialism, self-determination, socialism might have not been honored either. Even if not everybody is keenly aware of, however, now more than ever a more number of people seemed to have acquired much more knowledge and information, particularly after those criminal US/Tel Aviv-led imperialist wars against Iraq, Libya, today Syria, etc., why DPRK has chosen the military-first revolution as their sort of a “survival tool.”
As everybody knows, the early 1990s was when the Soviets and its satellite eastern European socialist block collapsed. It was also when China, too, was busy with their national strategy, i.e., the “Reform, Opening-door Policy.” It was when literally the whole world was either forcibly or voluntarily being friendly with, subjugated to, dictated by, or, if none of them, then sanctioned, demonized, isolated and even invaded, destroyed, deprived or massacred by the Washington-imposed “New World Order”.
Therefore, lately there seem not many doubts why DPRK had to take that hard choice as their own self-defensive measures such as acquiring their own nuclear deterrent power. Yes, it seems quite so. Lately, unlike the past, even in China and Russia, there seem not many disagreements anymore why DPRK had to become one of the global nuclear superpowers, so that they’d independently not only defend themselves from nonstop insane US nuclear war threats forever but also deter, stop and, if needed, defeat the Washington’s never-dying nuclear war adventures.
However, no matter what US has done for about six decades, unlike the case in the south where they’ve been still occupying ever since September 8, 1945, Washington has repeatedly failed to occupy the other half of Korean peninsula in the north. That’s true, too. US has never been able to successfully carry out any of their anti-DPRK strategies, tactics, gimmicks, whatsoever for 70 years now.
For some unbelievable reasons, Washington’s ‘regime change’ agenda has never been successfully accomplished. Therefore, the 70 years-old Washington’s anti-DPRK policy has been riddled with nonstop humiliations, setbacks, disasters, helplessness, etc. So in the history of DPRK-US confrontations, there seem so many mysteries, unanswered mysteries. Strangely enough, US has repeatedly backed down from all sorts of imperialist aggressions against its arch enemy.
An Undeniable Historical Fact: It’s the US Who Has Always Failed
Throughout the history of DPRK-US confrontation, an indisputable fact is that after 70 years of EVERYTHING and ANYTHING the US-led global imperialist coalition has done against DPRK, Washington so far has failed to accomplish its hidden agenda, i.e., to occupy the North thereby they’d not only control the whole Korean peninsula but also the entire region of Northeast Asia. No matter how the US imperialists and their paid apologists, media pundits and history books argue about the 70 years of US military occupation history in the South, Washington still hasn’t won its imperialists’ unilateral war against the North.
In other words, the OGS, the unprecedented or unheard of global empire ever existed in history, whose over 1,000 some military bases spread around the world in more than 135 nations, has done EVERYTHING and ANYTHING against a tiny, small, mostly mountainous (about 80% of its total area) and even divided nation. However, still for most in the world, the above-argued statements that US has lost its imperialist war of aggressions against DPRK wouldn’t easily make sense.
By the way, just in case, for your basic information, the size of DPRK is 46,528 square mi which is about the size of State of Ohio, 44,825 square mi. Its size is the 34th in the whole United States whose total area is 3.8 million square mi which is the 3rd/4th largest land mass in the world. Till this very day, even if US has repeatedly committed all sorts of illegal, clandestine or covert stuff, i.e., the tens of thousands of internationally-prohibited unspeakably heinous, inhumane and vicious “crimes against humanity and war crimes” against DPRK and its 25 million population for 70 years, Washington still has not been able to make even a 0.000 millimeter advance beyond the 38th Parallel.
No matter how the White House, State Dept. and their faithful corporate media pundits argue, the undeniable fact is that Washington has lost its “Imperial Ambition” (Noam Chomsky) in the intentionally-prolonged therefore yet-unfinished Korean War for over 60 years. As plainly revealed in the entire 70 years-long history of DPRK-US confrontations, Washington has repeatedly retreated from their agendas. As Galtung argued above, “the first and major retreat as their first defeat in their entire war history” Washington had to make was “the Signing of Armistice Agreement with DPRK and PRC in July 27, 1953.”
No matter how their historians write about it, the Armistice Agreement was undisputedly their major retreat or defeat from their original strategic goal to occupy the North and therefore even go further to advance beyond the Yalu River, the borderline between Korea and China. In his 2010 book “Korean War”, Prof. Cumings who “likens the indiscriminate American bombing of North Korea to genocide” writes the “United States succeeded in containment [of North Korea], establishing the 2.5-mile-wide demilitarized zone that still runs through Korea’s middle, but failed miserably at the war for the north, an attempt at Communist rollback.”
The fact that US, even if it’d brought its 15 vassal states under the cover of UN hat, had to sit with DPRK from July 10, 1951 and to talk about the ending the war, barely a year after they started the imperialist war in June 25, 1950 all the way until the 27th of July 1953, means they’d already lost the war from the early part of the Korean War.
For the sake of the record, throughout 3 years of war, US had mobilized all together about 2 million from 16 nations including its own 1.79 million US troops to the war. After the aggression of US imperialist war, more than 4-5 million Korean populations were wiped out, more than 80% of the entire nation was destroyed. Another information that should be noted that the “U.S. dropped more bombs in Korea (635,000 tons, as well as 32,557 tons of napalm) than in the entire Pacific theater during WW II.” For example, in his harsh critique of David Halberstam’s 2007 book “The Coldest Winter” in his same book “Korean War”, Cumings argues “there [in Halberstams’ book] is absolutely nothing on the atrocious massacres of this [Korean] war, or the American incendiary bombing campaigns” such as the “32,557 tons of napalm” dropped on Korean soil.
Therefore a cruel fact as a seriously challenging issue for the White House is the official acknowledgement of their defeat to Pyongyang by signing the Peace Treaty isn’t going to be a simple, easy or ordinary one. For most, if not all, the Washington’s defeat is going to be taken something as an incomprehensible event. But eventually the cruel reality will remind them, no matter they like or dislike, that’s the fact, an undeniable fact they’d refute anymore unlike they did last 60 some years. It’s like impossibility became possibility as a historical fact. The history of DPRK-US confrontation for 70 years can be summarized as simplest as in the following: the first has repeatedly succeeded while the latter has continually failed. Even in a much shorter and simpler way, it can be said as follows: Pyongyang won, Washington lost.
That’s why still most in the world will have hard time to understand what it’s all about. Even if Washington did everything, literally they’ve done everything they could, as an irrefutable historical fact, the US, as the unprecedented therefore never-existed “Only Global Superpower” in human history, has failed to move the dividing line of the Korean peninsula up toward even 0.0001 mm. The defeat therefore could be taken by many, as the OGS’ first official acknowledgement of its final demise to an incomparably asymmetrical enemy.
The asymmetric dimension of the D-U struggle is indispensable for a logically and objectively comprehensive understanding of the Korean peoples’ forcibly continued war against US for 63 years. Both internal and external differences of two nations in all aspects, I mean in every aspect, are simply incomparable. The history that Washington still hasn’t been able to finish its 70 years-old imperialist war of aggressions against DPRK is itself a defeat.
The First-ever Defeat the US Imperialists Had in Its War History, Part IV
The “Chosun People’s Revolutionary Army”, organized in April, 1932 in Andu, Manchuria, with the principle of late President Kim’s “gun-priority” as its core military strategy, had not only made his legendary anti-Japanese armed struggle continued for a dozen years until 1945 but also, together with other anti-imperialist military forces in the region such as Soviets’ Red Army and Mao Zedung-led Chinese Revolutionary Army, finally defeated the Imperial Japan and force them to unconditionally surrender in August, 1945. Even if DPRK was a newly-born nation founded in September, 1948, its newly-organized Korea People’s Army (KPA) in February 1948 nonetheless wasn’t in any way a brand new military force. For the KPA was a reorganized military organization as a regular army from an anti-imperialist guerrilla organization which had fought against the Japanese Guandong regular army for almost 20 years. But still the KPA at the time of war in June 1950 was poorly armed with very basic limited military hardware, supported by a sort of minimalist level of air and navy power.
However, the KPA, together with tens of thousands of Chinese Volunteer Army, was able to successfully deter or stop the war of US-led imperialist aggressions in 1950-53. In fact, the history should use the language defeat instead deter as a former (war-time) UN Commander Lt. General Mark W. Clark called himself in his memoir “the first general who lost the war” in the entire US history of war. By the way, as Galtung reminds, “from 1801 till today the US has fought 284 wars around the world.” Therefore, the Korean War was undoubtedly the first war the US had ever lost miserably. The defeat must have been then an unimaginable outcome for everybody. It’s sort of an impossible thing happened. A sort of like a speechless, helpless, motionless thing. However, as a payback, Koreans as a whole had to pay a very, very high price for the next 60 some years. The price I’d like to name is a Korean Holocaust.
Actually the Korean Holocaust was one of the many unknown, untold, and unrecognized Holocausts around the world. To name some globally well-known holocausts are Native American, African, Vietnamese, Palestinian Holocaust, etc. The Korean Holocaust can be plainly described as in the following way: In less than 3 years of the US-led imperialist war of aggressions, it took all together about more than 4-5 million innocent lives from both north and south, i.e., then about one sixth of its entire population of 30 million. The notorious Sinchon Massacre committed by invading US troops who briefly occupied the North Hwanghae Province of the north in late 1950 was one of the most gruesome examples why the world has to recognize the US-led imperialist war of aggressions the Korean Holocaust.
The Korean Holocaust and Other Unrecognized Holocausts
Throughout the war, there were a countless number of atrocities committed by US imperialists. Washington’s numerous “crimes against humanity” and “war crimes” should be able to suffice enough why the world should recognize the Korean War as another hidden, unrecognized and forgotten Holocaust just like the above-mentioned unrecognized holocausts of hundreds of millions of Native Americans, Africans, Palestinians, etc., etc. For example, close to the end of war, US had a secret criminal agenda through which they attempted to wipe out the northern population as much as possible. This agenda was put into place when US imperialists humiliatingly realized that they can’t win the war. So they had to do something or anything to damage the north as much as possible before they sign the then already-heavily negotiated Armistice Agreement.
The depopulation plan of the north was on the Washington’s one of the hidden agendas. Complete destructions of any remaining industrial bases, social infrastructures, rice fields, schools, kindergartens, hospitals, etc. including the then largest Soophoong Hydroelectric Dam in the north were some of the major examples. All that criminal atrocities which should have been already brought to appropriate international bodies such as the Hague-based International Criminal Court. However so far that sort of global justice in the present world’s power politics hasn’t happened yet. As expected, those terribly apparent war crimes and crimes against humanity the US imperialists committed haven’t been brought to justice yet.
Washington’s hidden agenda such as the depopulation strategy of the northern population as low as possible didn’t stop there however. As many Korea experts and scholars have already abundantly written on this issue, then Washington had another hidden agenda. It was indeed another viciously criminal strategy as if that was their last resort to make their hidden agenda to be accomplished at any cost. It was the nuclear card. Close to the end of the war, while engaging with the North working on the ongoing Armistice Agreement negotiations then already about almost two years, on the other hand, from behind the scene, Washington had made repeated threats to drop nuclear bombs in the north.
In order to further scare a more number of population as much as possible, Washington even dropped ‘dummy nuclear bombs.’ It’s another well-known war crimes Washington willfully but frantically committed that they used some of internationally-prohibited weapons of mass destruction, such as the ‘biological and chemical weapons.’ Again as expected, a more number of people would have frantically run away from the north. And Washington then was terribly right. Their hidden depopulation agenda did work great. Ever since the temporary pause of the war in July 1953, the size of the population of the north has been about a half of that of the south all along to this day.
As one of the worst symbols of human tragedy is the separation of loved family members by force and will. What Washington imperialists created then was the 70 years-continued saga of 10 million divided family members’ tragedy. It was another most naked, unavoidable, and telltale proof to uncover a countless number of Washington’s ‘crimes against humanity and war crimes’ numerously committed during the war. In fact, Washington’s nuclear war threats began as early as in November, 1950. It should be noted it began only less than half a year after they started the war of aggressions in June 25, 1950. The degree of destruction in the north was beyond imagination. It was complete. Period!
The human loss in the north was unspeakably immense. It wiped out about one third of the northern population. The imperialists’ war of [white] racism turned the whole nation in general, the North in particular into a complete ruin. Major cities like Pyongyang turned into just like the old stone age. After signing of the Armistice Agreement in July 1953, that was the very reason why Washington boastfully dared to predict the North won’t be able to rebuild it from the ashes at least “next 100 years.” The ashes they meant wasn’t untrue. It’s true. There weren’t any buildings, not even a single building left intact in major cities in the north, most specifically Pyongyang, the Capital City of DPRK, and of course other major industrialized cities like Hamhung, Wonsan, etc. in the east coast.
Korea was invaded by the international forces led by then the only nuclear power which, fully armed with the then most sophisticated military hardware such as napalm and other biological, chemical weapons of mass destruction. So it won’t be a much exaggerated description of the Korean War, as most Korea scholars like Bruce Cumings, together with globally recognized geopolitical (and Korea) issues experts like Michel Chossudovsky, Christopher Black, Finian Cunningham, Stephen Gowans, Andre Vltchek, and even a worldwide-known great painter Pablo Picaso, it was one of the most criminal, genocidal, and racist wars of aggression.
Many have argued war like the Korean War had never existed in the history of large scale international war of aggressions. Thus a claim that the Korean War should be remembered as one of the worst human holocausts, together with the above-mentioned other holocausts, in the world history isn’t much exaggerated or bloated. Of course, for the last quarter century of Songun period, the entire 25 million population of the North had immensely suffered from the shortage of almost everything, particularly food and energy. They had to pay the unimaginably high price for them to choose the path of Songun Politics.
Conclusive Remarks: Most Extreme Asymmetrical War, Cultural Imperialism, Great Suffering
In order to justify a military invasion, almost without exception, the West has used its most effective, covert but powerful lethal strategy, i.e., Cultural Imperialism (hereafter, CI) as a preset tool to prepare military invasions. One of the most predominant tools in the CI operations is the psychological warfare. Today it’s usually called the “demonization campaign.” Alvin and Heidi Toffler cite the demonization as one of its most prominent tools to justify imperialist wars in their book, War and Anti-War: In most cases it’s hardly comprehensible to figure out what’s going on in the world correctly in general, the D-U struggle in particular in the context of an inexplicable degree of great suffering the Koreans in the North had to endure for 70 years or for at least the last quarter century during the entire Songun era.
After the WWII, behind the great human suffering experienced not only in DPRK but also around the world, there have been always the US-led global imperialist wars and military interventions. The imperialists’ wars of aggressions had been also accompanied by sanctions and blockades, in other words, the nonstop war of CI. Particularly both omnipresent and all-powerful USCI, in the form of psychological warfare accompanied by demonization campaigns together with global scale economic blockades, financial sanctions, international isolations, etc., is the main culprit to have caused unimaginable degrees of great sufferings onto the hundreds of millions of peoples around the world, particularly those 25 million Koreans in the north. DPRK could be undoubtedly one of the worst victims of the CI strategy endlessly instigated by the US imperialism.
The unforgivable crime DPRK committed was to defeat the US-led international imperialist war of aggressions in the 1950-53 Korean War. For the crime of the non-negotiating principles of anti-imperialist and self-determined socialist position DPRK has defiantly taken, the population in the north had to pay a price. The price DPRK had to pay ever since the war temporarily ended in July 1953 was Washington’s endless war of CI for the following several decades.
Yes, the continued crime Koreans in the north further committed was, as briefly mentioned above, the never-back-down position on those non-negotiating principles under any circumstances even during the 2nd Arduous March period. For the sake of the record, the US-led anti-DPRK demonization campaigns, coupled with the severest degrees of economic blockades and financial sanctions, always accompanied by nonstop nuclear war threats for over 60 some years, are unprecedented in human history. It’s a never-heard-of thing in history. Since 1990s after the former Soviet Union collapsed and its satellite Eastern European socialist block as a whole had disappeared once for all, the degrees of the US-led global economic and financial sanctions and blockades had gotten even much severer.
The Washington’s coldblooded anti-DPRK CI strategy did work immensely. The 25 million Koreans in the north suffered unimaginably! However, it was still much lesser than the immediately-following period from 2006 for the next 10 years when even China and Russia had joined the US-led UNSC sanctions, in other words, the anti-DPRK USCI strategy. Since then, the scale of US-led and China- and Russia-sponsored economic and financial sanctions and blockades has been literally extended to the whole globe.
The coldblooded CI strategy for about a quarter century seemed to have made definitely the Washington’s worst enemy indescribably suffer. So, in the eyes of everybody, the final victory for the US war of CI seemed finally look so close. For the last quarter century, the US Soft Power strategy apparently seemed to have worked a lot more effectively than the Hard Power strategy against DPRK for the previous half a century. Nonetheless, no matter what US did, its worst enemy DPRK is still there at the same location. Rather, in the new world’s map of global power politics, DPRK isn’t at the same location anymore. Why and how?
The US, in a simple comparison with DPRK, is by itself an already asymmetrically incomparable power. The OGS itself is asymmetrically and unprecedentedly huge, gigantic and mammoth already. Such a gigantic therefore immeasurably overwhelming global power has never existed in human history. So a simple comparison itself is unnecessary.
For example, according to Wikipedia, US GDP is $17,419 trillion dollars (2014), while that of DPRK about $15 billion (2013). US population is about 322 million as of 2015 while that of DPRK about 25 million. US land size, the 3rd in its rank in the world, is about 3,800,000 square mi, while that of DPRK about 46,000. One of the main reasons why the D-U struggle is considered “historically unprecedented” is the asymmetrical differences in everything between the two most extremely different nations from each other. When we talk about the 70 years of D-U struggle, therefore, I believe the above-mentioned extremely two different asymmetrical sizes, numbers, volumes, etc. particularly in those visible or tangible matters between “the most anti-imperialist nation” and “the most imperialist nation” on earth should be taken into consideration.
Songun Politics, US President’s Public Admittance of Military Defeat
On January 22nd, 2015, surprise to everybody, Obama declared its military defeat against DPRK in his White House interview with the Youtube. He publicly admitted US has no more options to deal with DPRK militarily. Again for the sake of record, it was the first time ever in US history a sitting US president publicly acknowledged its military defeat in a war it’s still presently engaged with. Right after that surprising pronouncement of its military defeat, however, as if the “naked emperor” was trying to cover his naked body, again quite surprisingly to everybody, he made a sort of war declaration, i.e., the above-discussed war of CI.
When he made it, however, he seemed not look serious. It was like a talk for the talk type of gesture. Therefore, he in a way looked even childish, immature, careless or mindless when he boastfully guaranteed, US will be able to destroy DPRK from within using the above-mentioned CI (Soft Power) war. This second public announcement actually seemed to have made the world much more surprised than his public admittance of US military defeat to DPRK. When he boastfully exaggerated the so-called soft power war declaration against DPRK, I am sure even if he didn’t specifically mention in his interview, nevertheless, he exactly meant in his mind the following such as all sorts of CIA’s notoriously infamous dirty tricks like the smuggling of porno films, dirty magazines, and full of all sorts of stereotypical drug, sex and violence Hollywood movies, and so on. At the Youtube interview, he wasn’t in anyway the all-powerful Emperor of the OGS anymore. He just looked like a street thug or a youth gang.
As we’ve discussed above on the extremely asymmetrical difference between the two most arch enemies, I believe another simple comparison would be also beneficial to gain hopefully a holistic understanding of the often mysteriously incomprehensible D-U struggle. The military dimension in the history of D-U struggle would be probably the most prominent aspect in terms of the two nation’s extremely asymmetric backgrounds of military hardware. Here, again, this asymmetric factor would be able to provide people some clues to understand a DPRK’s idiom like the “impossibility turns into possibility” a bit better.
After the imperialists’ global war of aggression paused in July 27, 1953, the whole nation, particularly the North was laid in ruin from the relentlessly nonstop 3 yearlong “carpet bombings.” For example, in case of Pyongyang, there were about more than 400,000 some populations during the war. The US dropped about 420,000 bombs upon the city of Pyongyang. This criminal history alone reveals the history of a countless number of abominable US atrocities against the millions of Koreans.
Nevertheless, no matter what’d happened in the past, a series of successful both nuclear and H-bomb tests and satellite/missile launching tests and all other successful nuclear power-related tests since August 1998 till this day in July 10, 2016, seemed to have furthermore cemented the place of DPRK undoubtedly: 1) Scientifically one of the most developed, 2) Militarily one of the strongest nations on earth. With its several successful SLBM test fires in 2015 and 2016, particularly a successful launching of (both IRBM and ICBM-capable) Hwa-sung (Mars) 10th which reached all the way up to the 1413.6 km on June 23rd, together with its successful atmospheric reentry test, the level of DPRK’s most sophisticated military and scientific technologies are believed to have been further elevated to the upper highest 4-5 global nuclear superpowers club.
The principles of independence, self-reliance, self-determination, and self-defense are like the most important code words for the Koreans in the north. There is a saying: “They’ll die for the right to self-determination.” In any case, they’ll never kneel down before the imperialists or any other foreign forces. Instead they’ll fight for independence till they die. In September 9, 1948, DPRK built their nation upon the “people-oriented socialist principles.” The word Juche (self-reliance) is identified with the most sacred word late President Kim, founding father of DPRK following his over 20 years of defiant anti-Japanese guerilla warfare.
It seems what’d had been the most critical aspect in the repeatedly failed US imperialist war of aggression against DPRK is the area of Juche strategy. No matter how US imperialists argue, when they finally sit with DPRK and sign the over half a century-delayed Peace Treaty will be definitely considered as Washington’s Official Acknowledgment of Defeat to Pyongyang. In the world of imperialists, everything is decided by the logic of power. This truth has never changed throughout human history. The power decides which is right, which is wrong. The so-called ‘history’ in most cases is written by the powerful. The powerful is the authors of almost all of the written histories ever recorded in human history. Whoever grabs the power makes the history.
The concept of DPRK’s “Songun” seems one of the most straightforward language which tells the power decides everything particularly in the world of anti-imperialist and self-determined wars against the imperialism. Power decides a nation’s destiny and its relations to others. No matter how big the size, how many the population, how much the wealth, how great and diverse the cultures are, etc., however, if that nation is defenseless with its own self-reliant, independent and self-determined power to deal with any foreign forces, all that great cultures, histories, peoples, lands, national resources, and so on could be nothing. It’d be meaningless once for all. All that great values can be taken away at any moment, if not destroyed by the greedy outside forces.
After all, the 60 some years-long the US-led global economic blockades, financial sanctions, and ongoing nuclear war threats has however made DPRK paradoxically stand high at the center of today’s world’s power politics. How and why? It seems the historically-unprecedented people-centered Songun politics we’ve discussed throughout the paper is the answer. This most proud DPRK tradition for almost a century long seemed to have also created another historically-unprecedented human miracle, called the Il-sim-dan-gyul, the miracle of “all for one, one for all.” It’s no wonder why DPRK is a global nuclear superpower now while it’s continuing its undisruptive self-reliant economic development simultaneously. The author has no doubt even the Washington imperialists themselves will be able to hardly refute the following most undisputable historical fact for over 70 years: DPRK’s Songun Politics has thoroughly defeated another historically-unprecedented only global super (psychopathically great monster-like) empire!
By sharing another excerpt from Dr. Galtung, let me finally close this in many aspects incomplete therefore partial and yet-unfinished paper:
“On the Korean reunification, Galtung has suggested a confederation of the two states as a first step, followed by a federation and eventually complete incorporation as a neutral power. Despite the evolving security landscape surrounding the peninsula, he said he still believes in the idea. ‘I stand by unifying the nation with open borders and equitable cooperation, for the latter DPRK has to develop more, as they will.’ He continued, ‘I stand by first confederation of the two states, then federation, then possibly one state in the future, not based on any collapse — not a good base as we can see from Germany. And I stand by neutrality for a peninsula in the intense power field of four major powers.’” (From his June 17, 2016 interview with Korean Central Daily in Seoul)
[End]
About the Author:
Prof. Kiyul Chung, Editor-in-Chief at The 4th Media, in addition to a PhD he earned in the United States, also earned another doctoral degree, called, Doctor of Sociopolitics (SPD) from DPRK in 2014. Before he joined the Tsinghua University in Beijing, China as a Visiting Professor since September 2009, he’d been teaching in the States, South Korea and China ever since mid 1980s. While still working in China, however, since 2011, he’s been also invited to several universities in Japan such as Keio, Rikkyo and Korea University in Tokyo, Kyoto, Doshisha and Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto where he’s been lecturing as either Visiting Professor or Guest Lecturer. After obtaining a DPRK doctoral degree in the area of social science, he’s been also called into teaching at Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang, DPRK since March 2015. His articles have been published around the world since 1990s in addition to his prolific Korean articles which have been published in both North and South Korean medias including independent medias in overseas Korean communities throughout the world. Since December 1994, he’s published about 300 some articles in several Korean-language medias in both Koreas. His first English book (The Donghak Concept of God/Heaven: Religion and Social Transformation, Peter Lang Publishing Inc.) was published both in the United States and Europe in 2007. His first two Korean books were published in the South in 2009 and 2012 respectively. His two latest Korean books were also published in the North in 2015 and 2016 as well.
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