As a u.$. Naval strike group stalks toward the peninsula, the imperialists, whipped into a frenzy by Trump’s long-expected turn to ravenous interventionism, have shown a single-minded determination to destroy People’s Korea. The imperialists have all but promised war unless the DPRK surrenders its sovereign right to self-defense. At this moment it seems that nobody, not even the Chinese, will be able to convince the Korean people to lay down their arms and accept whatever comes next. The DPRK is busily preparing for all possible outcomes, and has been in capacity or another for more than 60 years, and this new development in western aggression will not discourage them from upholding their sovereignty. Though for leftists, and even for those who are looking on the situation in horror, unsure of what to think, we must take a very close look at the situation and demystify what precisely is happening here. Who is to blame for powder-keg primed to burst in East-Asia?

The Western Aggressor

The inclination for some has been to blame the Workers’ Party of Korea, insisting that if they would simply comply with the demands of the united $tates and peacefully denuclearize, then all would be resolved. However, as has been discussed in a previous article “The People’s Bomb” those with their hopes on disarmament ought not hold their breath. The DPRK has a dwindling number of choices with which to resolve the conflict that exists between their country and the world at large, and they can see plainly that in the midst of an armed conflict with the united $tates, that not even China can be trusted as an ally. China has increased sanctions against the country repeatedly, never once vetoing those sanctions passed in the UN, and recently turned back all energy imports from the small country. It is this horrific sanctions-regime that has stagnated and starved the country, battering down the standard of living. The Koreans have never attempted to hide this fact.

The Korean people know who is responsible for these shortages and the sacrifices they have had to make in recent years in order to keep stability and progress in the country. They are aware that it is the brutal sanctions regime, and a virtual military blockade undertaken by the u.$. and its running-dogs in order to batter the country into compliance. They understand perfectly well that it is not the Workers’ Party who is to blame, but it is the western imperialists who set the condition for integration into the world economy at the sacrifice of their sovereignty. Such conditions, if levied against any country in the west, would be met with an absolute rejection. Yet, somehow, when a free and independent country in the Third World decides that it will, at any cost, carve a path to their own progress in a manner displeasing to the west, they are hounded and threatened with total annihilation. Even the Chinese have signed on to this program of starvation and isolation, and cannot be relied upon to intervene on behalf of the Korean people except where their own interests are concerned. And who knows what assurances they may receive from the amerikans.

We know why this is: the united $tates and its neoliberal empire are in their death-throes, and are lashing out in a desperate attempt to keep control of the world they have dominated since at least the end of the second world war. They realize that such states as the DPRK cannot be allowed to exist as beacons for independence struggles throughout the Third World, and certainly cannot allow them to exist as a firm ally and representative to the Communist movements of the global south. Their existence is not only incredibly dangerous from the perspective of the material and moral support they have given to anti-imperialist struggles around the world, but also as a living example of resistance to imperialism, having withstood absolutely everything the western world could muster against them, including a devastating invasion. The DPRK shows the world what the path to true independence looks like, and how Third World countries can weather the storm of global imperialism. This message is an incredibly powerful one to Third World revolutionaries who have ever expressed doubt in their ability to stand against the empire, and to the united $tates who has considered itself an unstoppable force for so long.

Potential for Peace?

The imperialists say that they want a peaceful resolution to the conflict which is currently playing out on the Korean peninsula, and if we are to believe them then we should make one recommendation: leave. The DPRK has made clear that they do not want a war to occur, and that their nuclear arms program has been entirely for the purposes of defense. We should believe them, after all the country is speculated to have only a few dozen operational nuclear warheads as of now, in comparison to the united $tates which currently has thousands of nuclear weapons ready to be fired. The situation could be resolved peacefully if the united $tates were to leave the Korean peninsula once and for all, without firing a single shot. If they could do this, then we know that peace would be secured. However that is an impossible task for moribund imperialism, whose dying impulse, now grown rabid in late capitalism, is to further re-divide the map, break down resistance to both their military domination, and the penetration of their capitalists. Instead of demanding that the united $tates leave the peninsula and for peace to be restored, we are instead being encouraged by the imperialists to demand that a country besieged from all sides open their gates and let the enemy walk in. We are, as Malcolm X foretold, being actively trained to hate the very people who are being threatened with total destruction.

What is China’s role in this disaster? This is a point on which the Chinese official media itself is rather vague. They say that they will not participate in any military action against the Korean people, which we have no reason not to believe, and have, at times, said that military force on the peninsula will not be tolerated. However, they also seem keen on doing absolutely nothing to avert the total destruction of the Korean people by the western imperialists. The Chinese, despite having utilized the anti-imperialist rhetoric that they were so famous for in the past, have done nothing but take the side of the western aggressors from the very beginning, only hesitating when they are reminded of what is at stake for them and their precious “stability”. They have been nothing but callous to the people of the DPRK, and have constantly aligned themselves with the forces which seek to starve them out. The so-called “People’s Republic” of China is not a friend to the Korean people, but a friend to the imperialists. They possess an ultimate power to prevent war from breaking out on the Korean peninsula, yet have refused to take any firm stance which would do so. They can neither be trusted, respected, nor their actions defended.

What to Do

It goes without saying that u.$.-imposed “stability” is that of total subjugation, and their “peace” is the peace of the grave. And given the chance, they would entomb the northern half of the peninsula. If we cannot rely on China, amerika’s supposed opponent in the east, to do so then who or what do we turn to? Naturally, this question is flawed in that it supposes that there is some kind of state or international body which we can depend on to do for us and for the world what we must be doing ourselves. We must resolutely defend the rights and sovereignty of People’s Korea, and there are none on the international stage who will do this for us. This means that we must be the ones to demand at all costs that there be no war in East Asia, or anywhere for that matter. We must come together to oppose imperialism, not simply war. After all, it is imperialism which has created this problem, not the issue of nuclear weapons or of conflict in any abstract sense. Imperialism has been the primary threat which has motivated nuclearization in the DPRK, and which has promoted the idea that military action must be taken in order to secure the Korean peninsula for the interests of western countries, rather than for the security or freedom of the peoples who are living there.

The question which is most important here is how we can prevent the impending genocidal war which will surely break out on the peninsula if the united $tates is not stopped in its tracks. This means putting an end to imperialism, and in the intermediate period it means the unity of peoples all over the world with the Korean people. There is no value in demands to “end the dictatorship” or “rid the country of nuclear weapons” by liberals in the west who, despite whatever compassion they may feel for the plight of the Korean people, have aligned themselves with the forces of their complete destruction. First of all we must admit that the government in the DPRK is the legitimate government of the people, who have issued their full support for its continued existence and the sovereignty of the nation, and no foreign force, let alone NATO and u.$. Running-dogs, has any authority over them. Secondly we must understand that the sovereignty of the nation has up until this point depended on the nuclear weapons program, and therefore the calls made to give up such a defensive program are made synonymous with calls for the country’s destruction. Finally, and most importantly, we must act swiftly in all manners possible in order to discourage or obstruct the ability of the west to initiate their strategy for the destruction of the DPRK.

The heroic struggle of our comrades in the DPRK must not be forgotten and must be matched with all the strength we can muster in the west. The destruction of the DPRK at the hands of the imperialists would be an enormous setback for the world struggle against imperialism, as well as the struggle for socialism and communism. Millions of lives are hanging in the balance, and the apathy or hostility toward the DPRK must be regarded as complicity in the genocidal conflict to come if we are not successful. For the sake of the Korean people, and for the sake of us all, we must be unflinching in our struggle against imperialism, which means utmost solidarity and devotion to the Korean people.

Victory to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea!

Death to Imperialism!