25 years after the war the US. is still trying... KOREA United Nations than we know By TOM MORRIS At dawn on June 25, 1950, following careful preparations and a well planned propaganda Semeriee.. travps of the ROK “of the Chinese revolution in (Republic of ~Korea) Army launched an all-out attack north- ward. This attack, and _ the events that swiftly followed, are today being recalled, 25 years later, as the Korean situation once again hits the front pages. Sabre-rattling by South Ko- rean dictator Park Chung Hee, supported by provocative state- ments by U.S. President Ford and his Defence Secretary Schle- singer have prompted the West- ern media to speculate about “another Korean war.” They are dragging out the old lies about an attack from the North and all the distortions we’ve been fed about the 1950-53 U.S. ag- gression with its resulting four million dead and the partition of the Korean peninsula. Old film footage is being shown of the “UN troops” fight- ing in Korea. Time magazine de- votes a special section in its June 30 issue to reconstructing the Western version of the Korean war. It is doubly important today to set the record straight. First because the history of more than 25 years of U.S. aggression in Korea which resulted in a major war and the continuing volatile situation requires a clear understanding of historical events and, second, because to- day’s re-heating of the Korean situation by the United States and its puppets in South Korea (and Canada’s potential involve- PHOTO TOP — North Korean and Americans at the table in Pan- ment again) presents a serious danger of another war in Asia. A U.S. Bridgehead Following the collapse of U.S. policy in China and the victory 1949, the U.S. military aim was to establish a bridgehead in Asia on the Korean peninsula. The corrupt collaborator Syng- man Rhee was installed in the south and was provided with a modern army which, from the summer of 1949 until 1950 con- tinually attacked north of the 38th parallel. U.S. military “advisors” work- ed closely with the ROK troops and on June 5, three weeks be- fore the official start of the war, the head of the U.S. military mission boasted in an interview that “I’ve got at least 13 to 14 Americans with every division. They work right with the Ko- rean officers . . . they stay with them in the field and at the front<<20. <= During this crucial period the north was making repeated ef- forts to avoid armed warfare, offering cooperation with the south. An invitation was even extended weeks before the con- flict to 300 members of the South Korean parliament and other influential politicians to take part in unification talks. : The ‘UN Role’ The rest is history. Under the command of U.S. General Doug- las MacArthur massive _inter- vention took place under the UN flag. History must also register that the United States obtained “UN backing” after its troops were already in Korea by ram- ming it through quite a different peu J munjom at the 38th parallel where the peace agreement was signed on July 27, 1953. In spite of provisions in the agreement that all foreign troops leave Korea within three months, the U.S. still main-. tains 42,000 combat-ready troops in the south. ~ - PHOTO BOTTOM — Long lines of captured American soldiers in the 1950-53 war. U.S. casulties were 53,000 killed, 103,000 wounded. aw ‘ & wa ~* PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JULY 11, 1975—Page 6 today. Canada eagerly took part, sending troops and naval ves- sels. Other Western powers as- sisted and, flushed with success, “MacArthur began his infamous: “Home by Christmas” drive north to the Yalu River. It was a debacle as volunteer troops from the People’s Republic of China and North Korean forces smashed the invading divisions which were evacuated. On July 27, 1953 following protracted negotiations, a peace agreement was signed at Pan- munjom and a demarcation line established along the 38th paral- lel. : Article 4 of the Ceasefire Agreement provided for the withdrawel of foreign troops and steps towards the reunifica- tion of the country, within three months of the ceasefire. Treaty Violation But 12 days later, the U.S. and the Rhee regime violated this Agreement by signing a bilateral treaty which provided for the presense of American forces in South Korea and the station- ing of U.S. military bases there indefinitely. Today, 22 years later, the United States has 42,000 combat-ready troops’ in the country and is using this situation for its own world aims. Time magazine’s June 30 issue shows the transparency of the “United Nation’s role” when it reports: “Much of South Korea’s military. command and control functions are in U.S. hands. All 18 .ROK army divisions are under the operational control of U.S. general Stilwell who wears the hats of commanding general of the U.S. Eighth Army, com- mander in chief of the United Nations Command and Com- mander of U.S. Forces-Korea.” New U.S. Problem Part of the problem the U.S. faces will come up next year in the UN when efforts to re- move the “United Nations” forces from Korean soil and ad- vance the struggle for the peace- ful reunification of Korea will be launched. The U.S., anticipat- ting this move, will resort to the U.S.-South Korea bilateral agreement signed in 1953 to con- tinue and step up its presence there. Beligerant statements by Ford and Schlesinger in recent days confirm the American em- phasis on Korea once more. This is all the more alarming given Ford’s refusal to rule out the use of nuclear weapons in such a conflict. It would seem that the U.S. administration has opted for a “tough stance” fol- lowing the Indochina disaster and has introduced the element of a “firm and flexible nuclear response if necessary”. The cere- mony in Washington where Ford assured South Korea diplo- mats of America’s support only strengthens fears that the Uni- ted States is using the Korean situation to re-establish its im- age following Vietnam. A Plan for Peace The Democratic People’s Re- public of Korea has, on the other hand, been striving for a solu- tion to this complex and long- U.S. soldier patrolling the demarcation line in Korea 25 years after “the end of the war. . lasting problem. In March 1974 the government of the DPRK sent a message to the U.S. Con- gress outlining its proposals for a lasting peace in Korea. The preamble of its message urged the “creation of the prerequisites for removing tensions from the area and the acceleration of the ‘country’s independent and peaceful reunification.” Four points were laid before the Congressmen: e Both sides shall pledge to each other not to invade the other. side and shall remove all the danger of direct armed con- flict. e The two sides shall discon- tinue arms reinforcement and ‘ stop introducing weapons, com- bat equipment and war supplies into Korea. e The berets of the “United Nations Forces” shall be remov- ed from foreign troops station- ed in South Korea and they shall be withdrawn at the earliest pos” sible date from South Korea. e Korea shall not be made 4 military or operational base © any foreign country after the withdrawal of all foreign troop from South Korea. No Response | This appeal to the U.S. Con: gress, as the appeals for talks made to the South Korean gov ernment, have been ignored. As in many countries before this situation is created and e%- ploited by Washington for its larger aims. Canada, in neg tiating its deal with South Ko- . real for nuclear power is agai? — being drawn into the U-S. trap. Chile is once again | an imperialists haven | “Chile Today,” monthly sheet of the Chilean embassy in Ot- tawa, while trying hard to prove that Chile under the fascist junta is a better place to live, only succeeds in showing the. coun- try’s rapid return as a haven for foreign investment. The March issue not only shows how much money is pour- ing into Chile from the capitalist world, but where it’s coming from. Some samples: e Dow Chemical $16-million; Hoechst (West German) $14- million; Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing $1.9 - million; Phelps Dodge $18-million;' Pons Paper Co. $1-million; e The U.S. International De- velopment Agency loan of $23- million which was suspended to the Allende government is now paid to the junta. e Spain has agreed to an un- disclosed amount of credits. e Chile and fascist Paraguay have signed a_ hydroelectric power agreement. /@ U.S. investment of $1,800- million is expected over the next 20 months $1,500-million of | which will be invested in mining: — , ae a cd ; The magazine also reports of 7 the visit of the president of the — International Rotary Club 1? | Chile who says, “. . . In Chile - one feels the spirit’of freedom (sic) everywhere. I believe thé free world has a debt of grati- tude towards you as you havé done a great service to thosé who hate oppressive chains . - - This “spirit of freedom” 38 | seen in the renewed investment | in that country by Internation@ | Telephone and Telegraph (I to the tune of $50-million. ITT; it will be recalled was instru: mental in organizing the sab0- tage of the Allende government. And, as if to add insult to. injury, the junta’s paper pub- lishes a photo of the late Chilea Communist poet, Pablo Neruda not bothering to mention thé horrible indignities he was sub’ | jected to shortly before his death, the ransacking of his homé © by junta troops, defacing of his” works and withholding medical aid to him in his last hours.