North Korea issues new statement warning that US and S. Korea may trigger nuclear war

Yesterday, Russian State Duma member Anton Morozov warned that North Korea may be on the verge of testing a long-rang ballistic missile capable of reaching the US mainland. This comes as Vladimir Putin again warned of the dangers inherent in a would-be US attack on Pyongyang, during a press conference held in Moscow during Russian Energy Week. Here, Putin again called for dialogue and a freezing of military drills on the Korean peninsula as the only safe and sensible way to ease tensions.

With many speculating that a new North Korean rocket launch may be forthcoming, Pyongyang issued the following statement:

“The struggle of people of different social standings opposing the U.S. domination, interference and moves for aggression and war and urging the withdrawal of Yankee aggression troops is running high in south Korea on the lapse of 64 years since the aggressive and humiliating south Korea-U.S. “mutual defense treaty” was cooked up.

In this regard, a spokesman for the National Peace Committee of Korea Friday made public a statement which said:

The South Side Committee for Implementing June 15 Joint Declaration, the South Korean Federation of University Students in the 21st Century, the group of courageous youths and other organizations and people from all walks of life are actively staging the struggle through press conferences and meetings in demand of disbandment of the aggressive and humiliating alliance.

This is an eruption of the resolute will to drive the aggression forces who impose immeasurable misfortunes and sufferings upon the south Korean people and all other Koreans and try to ignite a nuclear war on this land and to regain the deprived sovereignty and dignity.

The south Korea-U.S. “mutual defense treaty” is an aggressive and traitorous war document the kernel of which is to keep the U.S. imperialist aggression forces in south Korea and its vicinity for an indefinite period, put the south Korean puppet army under their tight control and cope with the contingency on the Korean peninsula by joint military operation. It is the symbol of the U.S. military occupation of south Korea and the yoke for colonial domination.

Under this brigandish “treaty” the U.S. has reduced south Korea into the arsenal and advanced base for a nuclear war and aggravated the situation of the Korean peninsula to the extremes through ceaseless nuclear war gambling against the north, while styling itself an entity of extraordinary privileges.

The U.S. gangster-like moves for domination, subjugation, aggression and war are getting evermore reckless and dangerous in the wake of the frenzy of war thirsty Trump who spat out the remarks of “total destruction of north Korea” without hesitation.

The pro-U.S. traitors and confrontation maniacs in south Korea are fanning up such war hysteria of the U.S., while calling for “strengthened alliance to cope with the nuclear threat from the north”.

The south Korean people can not get rid of the miserable misfortunes and sufferings and the whole nation cannot evade the tragedy of division and nuclear war disaster as long as the U.S. military occupation and domination over south Korea which have lasted for more than seven decades continue and the treacherous moves of the pro-U.S. sycophants are allowed to continue”.

As is the case with all statements from Pyongyang, it is crucial to read the statement carefully so as not to underestimate the subtext of the otherwise ornate statement.

In the current statement, Pyongyang is essentially throwing its weight behind the double-freeze proposals of China and Russia, albeit in a quintessentially North Korean rhetorical style. China and Russia, in addition to calling for a cessation of North Korean missile tests, have also called upon the US, Japan and South Korea to cease military drills in the region. Furthermore, Russia and China’s double-freeze peace plan also calls upon the US to cease shipments of the THAAD missile systems to South Korea as part of an effort create an atmosphere of trust.

Furthermore, Russia has proposed a tripartite economic cooperation scheme which would help foster further trust between Seoul and Pyongyang, something which would be achieved with both sides working together on Russian led initiatives. President Putin proposed this at the recent Eastern Economic Conference in Vladivostok which was attended by South Korean President Moon Jae-in as well as a North Korean delegation.

Two Koreas–One Road: The future of cooperation between North Korea, South Korea and Russia

Moon Jae-in appeared to endorse the project at the United Nations, while North Korea said that it is interested in participation but not immediately.