Background Information on Korea
Korea is one of the most ancient civilizations in the world, with the first Korean state being established over 5,000 years ago. Its people have made significant contributions to human culture, including the invention of moveable type and a rich legacy of art and music. Although a fiercely independent people, the Korean nation has been subjugated by various foreign powers over the ages as a result of its strategic geography. During the 20th century Korea was occupied first by the Japanese imperialists and then by the U.S. imperialists.
In 1945, the Second World War ended with the Japanese army expelled from the northern half of the peninsula by the Soviet Red Army and the Korean Army of National Liberation. The Japanese surrendered the southern half of the country to the Americans. Although the U.S. had agreed to organize elections in the southern zone of occupation with the purpose of unifying the country under one government, it reneged on its agreement when it realized that Kim Il Sung, the leader of the Korean national liberation forces would win by a landslide. Instead, it installed a succession of brutal military dictators which continued until the recently-elected civilian government. Under those U.S.-sponsored regimes, the mere mention of reunification could result in a jail term of several years. As a direct result of this U.S. imperialist occupation, the Korean nation has been divided since 1945.
The Korean War broke out in response to the continuing occupation of the southern part of the country by U.S. troops and repeated military provocations by the U.S. forces, which hoped to engineer an excuse to invade China and restore a U.S. puppet regime in that country. The U.S. plan to occupy the entire peninsula and use it as a base of operations against China and the Soviet Union was thwarted by the combined efforts of the forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the People's Republic of China. The fighting, which lasted from 1950 to 1953 did not change the borders and the country remained divided with the south being occupied by the U.S., while all foreign troops were withdrawn from the north.
While the U.S. keeps repeating claims that North Korea is developing nuclear weapons, the United Nations has confirmed that this is not the case. The only nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula are the 1,000 nuclear warheads in the U.S. arsenals in South Korea. These missiles are aimed not only at North Korea, but also at China and Russia. The U.S. military has admitted on numerous occasions that it has plans to use those weapons of mass destruction against the North in the event of an outbreak of hostilities. The government of North Korea and progressive and democratic organizations in the South have for decades been demanding the withdrawal of all U.S. nuclear weapons from the South and the establishment of a nuclear-free zone throughout Korea. The U.S. has consistently vetoed that demand and has undermined and blocked every attempt by the Korean people to peacefully reunify their nation by spreading disinformation and engineering artificial crises. It cannot afford to lose its last remaining military base in eastern Asia.