June 16, 2018
The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) welcomes the historic meeting between Chairman Kim Jong Un of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and President Donald J. Trump of the United States held last June 12 in Singapore.
According to the joint statement of the two heads of state, they “conducted a comprehensive, in-depth, and sincere exchange of opinions on the issues related to the establishment of new U.S.-DPRK relations and the building of a lasting and robust peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. President Trump committed to provide security guarantees to the DPRK, and Chairman Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”
The document includes four major terms agreed on, albeit with no details on implementation:
- The US and DPRK commit to establish new bilateral relations in pursuit of peace and prosperity.
- Both countries will work toward building a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean peninsula.
- In accordance with the April 27, 2018 Panmunjom Declaration, the DPRK commits to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
- Both countries commit to recovering POW/MIA remains, including the immediate repatriation of those already identified.
In a press conference following the historic summit, Trump pledged to halt U.S. war games with south Korea, calling them “tremendously expensive” and “provocative”. This is a belated acknowledgement of what the DPRK has been saying all along – that US imperialist military actions in the region is an existential threat to the people of Korea and that the DPRK’s nuclear weapons program is meant to deter that threat.
The June 12 Summit in Singapore is the first ever meeting between the leaders of these two states since the DPRK was founded in 1948. It caps a whirlwind of diplomatic offensives by Pyongyang which saw Kim Jong Un meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last March, south Korean President Moon Jae-in in April, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in May. All these efforts demonstrate the resolve of the DPRK’s leadership to build goodwill and foster conditions for reconciliation and peace in the Korean Peninsula and the region.
The Joint Statement of Kim and Trump in Singapore and subsequent pronouncements from Trump appear to signify a departure from US imperialist policy of unbridled belligerence against the DPRK. In reality the US was forced to temper its stance because the people of Korea on both sides of the 38th parallel are clearly demanding peace and reunification. President Moon has already responded to this popular clamor by reciprocating Chairman Kim’s overtures. The US is wary that it’s longstanding neocolony in East Asia and host of the largest overseas US military base would continue to warm up not only to the DPRK but also to China, which is now south Korea’s largest trading partner. In December 2017, Xi Jinping and Moon Jae-in agreed on four principles for resolving the security crisis in the Korean peninsula: (1) the unacceptability of war; (2) a firm commitment to denuclearization in the Peninsula; (3) peaceful resolution through dialogue and negotiation; and (3) the need to improve inter-Korean relations. By maintaining its all-out war stance against the DPRK, the US would risk isolating itself even from its ally in the south.
Nevertheless, the “deep state” and neoconservative militarists in the US are determined to trample on the seeds of peace in the Korean peninsula. Notwithstanding Trump and Kim’s Joint Statement, they are demanding the complete dismantling and elimination of the DPRK’s ballistic missiles and weapons programs even without security guarantees in place – which is nothing short of complete capitulation to US imperialism. These forces are not interested in a diplomatic resolution to the “nuclear threat” in the Korean Peninsula because it provides the justification for maintaining U.S. regional hegemony and military power projection right under China’s belly. The tensions in Korea also bolster U.S. public support for ramping up military expenditures for missile and other weapons systems that feed the military-industrial complex.
The National Democratic Front of the Philippines is one with the people of Korea in demanding an end to US imperialist intervention in Korea, the withdrawal of US troops and weapons from south Korea, and an end to all forms of sanctions and provocations against the DPRK. It is up to the people of Korea, with the support of peoples of other countries in the region and beyond, to defend and assert their right to self-determination, move ever closer to reunification, plant the seeds of just and lasting peace in all of Korea, and nurture them to fruition.
