March to Socialism
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We publish below a statement from the South Korean group March to Socialism in view of the possible deployment of North Korean troops on the Russian front in the war in Ukraine and the possibility of South Korea’s involvement on the side of Ukraine/NATO. Although we have some divergences in analysis and characterization, which we have been addressing in our political exchanges and debates with the group, we share their position on this new situation in the Ukrainian war.
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Whatever the truth behind the North Korean troop deployment, the South Korean government must immediately stop its efforts to intervene in the Russia-Ukraine war!
The world has been shaken by various theories that North Korean troops are being sent to Russia to fight against Ukraine. This claim, which began with the Ukrainian government on October 13, was confirmed by the South Korean government on October 18, and by the U.S. government on October 23, and is now considered an established fact in the West.
However, we believe that the deployment of the North Korean military to Russia has not yet been clearly confirmed. This is because all the sensational claims made by the West have not yet been backed up by any decisive evidence. And above all, we remember the historical crimes of US imperialism, which leads the West, in manipulating facts to start wars.
The fabrication of the so-called Gulf of Tonkin Incident in 1964, in which it was known that North Vietnam had attacked US ships first, by the USA in order to intervene directly in the Vietnam War is now a historical fact that the USA itself recognizes. The U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 was claimed to be to eliminate weapons of mass destruction, but in fact U.S. intelligence agencies already knew that there were no weapons of mass destruction, a fact confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Of course, we don’t take Russia’s and North Korea’s denials at face value either. Given their past behavior, it is entirely possible that the deployment could be confirmed or become a reality. In particular, the North Korean Foreign Ministry’s October 25 statement that “if such an action were to take place, it would be in line with international legal norms” confirms that some sort of process is underway.
While it is true that NATO, led by the United States, has been strategically threatening Russia through its eastward expansion and proxy war in Ukraine, this does not justify Russia’s war of aggression denying Ukraine’s right to self-determination. As North Korea emerges from its long isolation due to the turbulence in the world order, it is a blatant manifestation of the reactionary nature of the North Korean regime that it denies the reunification of the Korean Peninsula, defines the relations between North and South Korea as hostile belligerents, and signs a military assistance treaty with the imperialist aggressor Russia.
If the deployment of the North Korean military in the Russia-Ukraine war becomes a reality, it would be a highly reactionary act of participating in an imperialist war of aggression. It would be no different from the way the South Korean military participated in the U.S. imperialist invasions of Vietnam and Iraq.
But no matter how the North Korean military deployment theory turns out, one thing is clear. The South Korean government’s attempt to use the North Korean troop deployment as an excuse to intervene fully in the Russia-Ukraine war must be stopped by the struggle of the workers and people.
The South Korean government has already indirectly provided Ukraine with the largest artillery ammunition in the West through the United States. Now it is openly talking about “directly supplying aggressive weapons” to Ukraine under the pretext of the North Korean troop deployment. Some are even talking about sending South Korean troops in response.
If the South Korean government’s involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war were to materialize, it would have very serious consequences. It would be a key player in escalating the Russia-Ukraine war to the next level, carrying the flames of the Russia-Ukraine war to the Korean Peninsula and creating an immediate confrontation situation. Nevertheless, Yoon’s government is likely to take the risk of plunging into the flames of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Just as Israel’s Netanyahu has expanded wars and genocides throughout the Middle East to deflect his political crisis, Yoon’s government is likely to mobilize military adventurism to resolve its political crisis. But the workers and people of South Korea are well aware of the devastating consequences of war on the Korean Peninsula. An October 25 Gallup poll in South Korea found that 80 percent oppose South Korea’s military aid to Ukraine. The struggle of the workers and people against the Yoon government’s military adventurism must be resolutely organized.
The root of the problem is the imperialist hegemonic confrontation that is shaking the world today. As the Western imperialist camp led by the United States and the rising imperialist camp centered on China and Russia enter into a full-scale confrontation, the world is increasingly being plunged into wars of varying degrees. Both camps are imperialists who do not hesitate to use aggression and war to fulfill the interests of the ruling classes of the great powers, and this imperialist hegemonic confrontation is accelerating as the capitalist crisis deepens. If this continues, a third world war cannot be ruled out. The fundamental solution lies in building a united struggle of the working class around the world against imperialism and war.
Let’s organize the political general strike of the working class against the war and for Yoon’s resignation now!
Originally Published: 2024-11-03 07:45:00
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