Article Image

IPFS

Trump Regime Hardliners Oppose Korean Peninsula Peace

Written by Subject: Korea/North Korea

Trump Regime Hardliners Oppose Korean Peninsula Peace

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

A US state of war against North Korea has existed since Harry Truman's aggression against the DPRK in the early 1950s.

Trump regime hardliners want no letup in US hostility toward the country, going all-out to prevent improved relations agreed on by DLT and Kim Jong-un during mid-June summit talks.

Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in support a formal end to the 1950s war. Following their Tuesday summit talks in Pyongyang, they signed a joint statement, proclaiming a state of war's end, Moon's spokesman saying:

"Leaders of the South and the North…announced the end of the war on the Korean Peninsula by their agreements."

According to a document called the "September Pyongyang Declaration," both leaders "shared the view that the Korean peninsula should be a region without nuclear weapons nor nuclear threats, and have agreed to make practical progress."

They signed a military agreement, stating the DPRK's main Yongbyon nuclear site will be dismantled along with its Tonchkhan rocket testing facility, conditional on the US taking "corresponding (good will) measures." 

They're not forthcoming because Trump regime hardliners reject making concessions. They demand full North Korea denuclearization and abandonment of its ballistic missile program in return for hollow promises, sure to be breached like many times before - proving Washington can never be trusted.

Kim and Moon genuinely want peace on the peninsula. After summit talks, Kim said he and his South Korean counterpart intend "mak(ing) active efforts to turn the Korean peninsula into the land of peace without nuclear weapons or nuclear threats."

He promised to visit Seoul for further talks, a first by a DPRK leader when he arrives since the peninsula was divided post-WW II.

Both leaders also agreed to cease provocative military exercises and flights near the demarcation line, along with withdrawing forces of both countries from the demilitarized zone.

Rail and road links between both countries will be established. An 80 km-wide zone will be created, free from Yellow Sea and Sea of Japan military exercises.

Trump regime hardliners remain the problem, implacably hostile toward North Korea and all other sovereign independent states, wanting pro-Western puppet regimes replacing their legitimate governments.

Since mid-June Kim/Trump summit talks, US relations toward North Korea deteriorated badly. Washington may resume provocative regional military exercises North Korean officials consider rehearsals for invasion.

Kim earlier said one-sided Trump regime demands may undermine stepping back from the brink on the peninsula.

Its refusal to ease unacceptable sanctions, along with wanting new ones imposed, shows intractable bad faith, making improved relations unattainable - regardless of warming ties between Kim and Moon.

The DPRK is committed to denuclearization as long as Washington offers reciprocal steps and its security is guaranteed, mainly by America and China.

Its other demands are reasonable, wanting a formal end to the 1950s war, unacceptably harsh sanctions lifted, its sovereign independence respected, and a durable peace replacing threatened war on the peninsula.

If all of the above objectives are achieved, its nuclear deterrent is no longer needed. It's solely for defense, not offensive

Given Washington's rage for global hegemony, its longterm hostility toward the DPRK, its aim to transform all sovereign independent nations into US vassal states, and its deplorable history of reneging on promises, it's pure fantasy to believe this time is different going forward in bilateral relations.

As long as Trump regime hardliners control his geopolitical agenda, an uneasy armistice on the peninsula will persist.

Formally ending the 1950s war and normalizing relations with Pyongyang will stay unattainable - unthinkable nuclear war remaining possible.

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html