This Week In Korean History

This week marks two events of note.

Firstly, 13th of December marks the signing of the 1991 Agreement on Reconciliation, Non-aggression and Exchanges and Cooperation between South and North. This was the culmination of two years of high level negotiations between South Korea and North Korea.

In this document the two countries agreed on:

• A Reaffirmation of the three basic principles of unification set forth in the South-North Joint Communique of July 4, 1972;
• A determination to end the state of political and military confrontation and achieve national reconciliation;
• South and North Korea not using force or undertake armed aggression against each other;
• An undertaking that South and North Korea resolve peacefully, through dialogue and negotiation, any differences of views and disputes arising between them.

This laid the groundwork for subsequent head of state Summits in 2000, 2007 and 2018. After each of these, jointly signed documents were issued which built on the 13 December 1991 document and laid out an agreed upon roadmap for an end to the war and peaceful co-existence of North and South Korea.

Despite these Summit agreements, nothing has happened.

The North is ready and willing to proceed.

The South is impeded by the Mutual Defense Treaty Between the United States and the Republic of Korea. This treaty, signed two months after, and completely contrary to the spirit of the 1953 Korean War Armistice, subjugates South Korea’s sovereignty to the United States.

The United States values sales of over-priced armaments to South Korea over peace for the Korean Nation and sees South Korea as complementing Japan as bases against China.

Secondly, this week in December marks the 2011 death of Kim Jong-il. Assuming leadership in 1994, Kim Jong-il led North Korea through and out of a very difficult period – known as the Arduous March. Forced by United States sanctions to trade only with socialist countries, North Korea was in a very bad situation after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Deprived of essential imports such as oil and spare parts the economy plummeted resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths and the readjustment process has been long and difficult.

Looking back at his tenure we can see that with his policies of Songun (military first) and introduction of "landmark socialist-type market economic practices” Kim Jong Il created a resilience which has protected the country against external threat and enabled the North Korean economy to grow over subsequent decades to the present day.

NZ DPRK Society 13th December 2021

© Scoop Media