ON MARCH 21, local residents and political activists went into action holding an emergency demonstration at the south Korean Naval Operations Command headquarters in Busan when they heard that the nuclear-powered U.S. submarine Cheyenne had docked at the naval port to take part in the joint south Korea-U.S. war exercises presently underway. The Cheyenne is an attack submarine equipped with vertical cruise missile launch tubes and up-to-date combat systems, news agencies report.
The protesters denounced the presence of the submarine, shouting slogans, “U.S. Nuclear Attack Submarine Get Out of Korea” and “U.S. Navy Get Out of Korea.” Residents in Busan pointed out that the presence of the nuclear submarine in Korea decreases their security. Other speakers called for an end to the military confrontation and for a dialogue to establish peace.
U.S. flies stealth bombers over Korea
A SITUATION of calm and de-escalation of military drills is required in order to prevent the danger of a nuclear war breaking out on the Korean peninsula. Instead, the U.S. keeps escalating tensions.
On March 25, the U.S. military flew B-52 strategic bombers over the skies of south Korea and engaged in simulated nuclear missile attacks against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). On March 28, two B-2A Stealth strategic bombers from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri State, flew sorties in the sky above the Jikdo firing range in the waters off Kunsan, North Jolla Province, south Korea, conducting bombing raids on ground targets. The B-2A bombers are capable of dropping nuclear bombs. These war exercises are part of the Key Resolve/Foal Eagle U.S.-south Korean war preparations against the DPRK.
U.S. Troops Out of South Korea Now!
U.S. Sign a Permanent Peace Agreement Now!
North-South relations put on a war footing
Ongoing anti-war actions in south Korea reject U.S. military presence and aggression against the north.
An operational meeting convened by Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un and the Supreme Command of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) on March 30 in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has put the DPRK armed forces, particularly the Strategic Rocket Force, in a state of battle readiness in the face of the extremely tense situation on the Korean peninsula, the Korean Central News Agency reported. It said this state of military alert is the direct result of the ongoing U.S.-south Korea war preparations against the DPRK.
A public statement of the government, army and various political parties and organizations following the operational meeting affirmed that the DPRK would take “decisive military counteraction to defend the sovereignty of the country.” Three decisions were taken at the meeting:
Firstly, North-South relations will from now on be dealt with according to wartime regulations and therefore any provocation from the south will be dealt with militarily, the Korean Central News Agency said.
Secondly, “If the U.S. and the south Korean puppet troops initiate military action to ignite a war against the DPRK including on the five islands in the West Sea of Korea,[1] or along the Military Demarcation Line, the DPRK will respond in an all out war, that will be a nuclear war.”
Thirdly, once such a war begins, “it will be fought in the air, on land and at sea for national reunification.” Calling it a “sacred war of justice,” the KCNA said it would involve “all the Korean people to reunite their divided country once and for all.”
The public statement issued following the operational meeting “affirmed the just cause of the Korean people and expressed confidence in their victory over their U.S. and domestic enemies.”
Korean-Americans and anti-war activists hold demonstration to oppose U.S. sanctions and military aggression against the DPRK, March 27, 2013, in Times Square, New York City.
Note
1. The five islands in the West Sea of Korea including Yeongpyeong Island are in the territorial waters of the DPRK which never recognized the Northern Limit Line which the United States secretly imposed north of these islands following the Armistice Agreement. There have been various clashes between the north and the south of Korea over the years about who controls the fishing rights around the islands. In November 2010, a U.S./south Korean military provocation saw artillery shells cross into DPRK territorial waters. The DPRK fired artillery shells on Yeongpyeong Island in response.
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