Report on the Work of the APRCPRK
Respected co-chairpersons, joint secretaries, members of Asia-Pacific Regional Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea,
Dear key members of friendship and solidarity organizations with the Korean people in the Asia-Pacific region,
Dear representatives of different progressive organizations, and anti-war and peace organizations,
Dear comrades and friends,
First of all, on behalf of the Asia-Pacific Regional Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all the participants present here for supporting the convention of the enlarged meetings of the APRCPRK, directing every effort to its successful opening, and finally joining the meeting today.
Availing myself of this opportunity, I would like to extend the warm greetings of solidarity to all the organizations and individuals, active in different countries throughout the world, in support of the Korean people in their sacred endeavor to reunify the country independently and peacefully.
At the same time, I, on behalf of everyone present here, solemnly affirm and pledge that our tireless efforts to bring the reunification of Korea to earlier achievement will continue until the very day in which the One Korea Flag is flying unfurled on the Korean peninsula.
Dear Comrades and friends,
APRCPRK, organized in April 2012 by merging the Asia Regional Committee and the Oceania Regional Committee for Peaceful Reunification of Korea in reflection of the requirements of the times to launch the activities supporting the reunification of Korea in a unified manner, has initiated and sustained the regional solidarity campaign to extend solid support to and solidarity with the Korean people in their just cause.
In August 2015, the APRCPRK held a consultative meeting of its leading members in Pyongyang on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation to deal with the practical issues to further elevate the functions and role of the organization, and took the lead in many activities true to its mission for the last five years.
At this time of reviewing the work of the APRCPRK, I look back upon the last five years which slipped past with mixture of shock and rapture, joy and excitement, and disappointment and anxiety.
It was, indeed, an especially noteworthy event that a dramatic turn was made on the Korean peninsula for the national independence, peace and prosperity by dispelling the touch-and- go situation, which had spiraled up to the brink of war momentarily due to mistrust and hostility.
As we all remember, the situation on the Korean peninsula was extremely tense and complicated in and around the late 2017. The unprecedentedly tight situation of the Korean peninsula imminently called for decisive measures to terminate at once the abnormal phenomena of the inter-Korean relations and make a breakthrough in the independent reunification.
This is when HE KIM JONG UN, President of the State Affairs of the DPRK, stated in his new year's address-2018 that he would make a new history of the national reunification by concerting efforts of the nation under the banner of "by our nation itself". And this was followed up with exceptional measures consecutively for the national reconciliation, unity and peace. As a result, large-scaled DPRK delegations including a high-level delegation, art troupe, sports team and cheering squad could join the 23rd Winter Olympics, bringing about a warm spring of reconciliation and unity.
On April 27, 2018, we were very much excited to witness the historical moment, which was recorded in the inter-Korean history as the "3rd summit meeting and talks" at Panmunjom, a place which had been a symbol of division and pain, confrontation and antagonism for such a long period of time. Panmunjom summit meeting and talks and April 27th Declaration has set in motion again the second hand of the reunification clock which was completely run down, and ushered in a new history of reconciliation and unity, peace and prosperity, and reunification for the Korean nation.
In the wake of these historic events that we witnessed in joy and excitement, the 4th inter- Korean summit meeting and talks were held in the Tongil Pavilion at Panmunjom just 29 days after Panmunjom talks, and the 5th inter-Korean summit meeting and talks were arranged in Pyongyang on September 18, 2018, which gave us great expectations that the reunification of Korea could be a reality in the near future.
After closely following these historic moments and having chances to hear the feedback of my international friends full of excitement and admiration, I was deeply impressed by KIM JONG UN, President of the State Affairs, for his bold decision that resulted in adoption of the historic agreement which would go down forever in the world history, and the magnanimity of this great man to prioritize the century-old desire of the Korean nation and orient everything towards the national reunification with broad generosity.
I could feel very proud of myself for being one of many who have supported Korea's reunification with fervent desire for it.
The entire Korean nation and the world’s peace-loving people have ardently aspired that the trend of national reconciliation and the atmosphere of peace could continue prevailing on the Korean peninsula by thoroughly implementing the historic Panmunjom Declaration and the September Pyongyang Joint Declaration, thus leading into the constant improvements of inter-Korean relations.
However, the reactionaries of history did not hesitate to run counter to the overwhelming expectations of the international community. The U.S. resorted to every conceivable scheme to hold the inter-Korean relations under its girdle of sanctions and pressure policy against the DPRK by undisguisedly forcing "speed regulation" upon the south Korean authorities. Needless to say that the conservatives in the south Korea run amuck to reverse the inter- Korean relations into the past fraught with enmity and confrontation.
In retrospect, witnessed between the north and south Korea are the astonishing changes beyond the bounds of conception thanks to the 'diastrophism' of the Korean peninsula which completely transformed the political landscape of both inter-Korean relations and DPRK- U.S. relations. Nevertheless, it is the very inter-Korean relations that have fallen into a stalemate and stagnation, as if there is a stylish form but no contents, and flamboyant rhetoric without practice.
The reason for this, without doubt, is attributable to the anti-reunification forces – the U.S. and its allies advocating neo-colonialism and neo-liberalism – which gave loud cries of welcoming positive trends of the inter-Korean relations towards the improvements, whenever occasion offers, while pulling down the check-bar on improving the inter-Korean relations and hindering it in every possible way.
When reflecting the development of the inter-Korean relations for the last five years, I believe that speed regulation of the inter-Korean relations clearly mirror the intention of the U.S. that does not like to see the tangible improvement and development of the inter-Korean relations, and thus it is necessary to analyze it anatomically.
To take a few examples, when "Agreement on reconciliation, non-aggression, cooperation & exchanges" was adopted in the early 1990s, the main party that cooked up "the nuclear crisis of the north" and made a "scrap of paper" of the agreement was none other than the U.S.
When the historic June 15th Joint Declaration was published in 2000, the U.S. had summoned the south Korean executive to Washington and scolded him by using insolent words. When October 4th Declaration was signed in 2007, they openly blamed that the inter- Korean relations went ahead of the nuclear issue.
As you all know, it was an internationally recognized fact that the historic DPRK-U.S. summit could be sprung with the help of a drastic turn in the inter-Korean relations. However, it was something hard to understand for the world's people when the U.S., who had staged the "meeting of the century" in Singapore and a "fresh-new start" of the DPRK- U.S. relations, hurdled the inter-Korean relations by clamoring for "speed regulation" theory.
If a marathon runner of your country ran ahead of an American runner in the international championship and was forced to slow down, how would he or she react? The answer is clear enough and axiomatic. The U.S. did disturb the peace process in Korea with such a brigandish logic and is now plunging back the inter-Korean relations into catastrophe again in the same way.
The reality shows that though the U.S. sat at the table for dialogue with the DPRK in the pursuit of their own strategic interest, they are full of evil intention to deprive the nuke of the DPRK and make it succumb, rather than to build new and good relations with the DPRK. Lying at the very base of such mind-sets are misgivings of the U.S. that if the north and the south Korea were going further towards better relations and reunification, the U.S. would have no other choice but to step out of the Korean peninsula, and the rule-of-thumb calculation that the keynote for its strategy to dominate entire Asia would vacillate as a result – this would be a correct analysis of the prevailing political situation on the Korean peninsula.
Important to note here is that it is high time for the U.S. to change its attitude and behavior towards the inter-Korean relations. The inter-Korean relations constitutes the internal issue of the Korean nation, and it is indeed a severe infringement on the sovereignty of a nation when a foreign force meddles in the inter-Korean relations at its own pleasure, throwing roadblocks to its settlement.
In the meantime, the U.S. should clearly appreciate the reality that a showdown between the DPRK and the U.S. will not be any longer like face-offs between two in the 1950s, 1960s, 70s, 80s, and 90s but it will be the contest of power between two military giants. We should recognize and admit the fact that the DPRK is no longer a small and weak country, which was forced to submit to the miserable fate of a colony as it was so feeble to safeguard its own sovereignty.
Looking back upon the history of Korea's division, Korea was not a defeated nation like Germany, but it is a homogeneous nation that should not have been the subject of "divide and rule" or trusteeship. Nevertheless, the Korean nation was compelled to suffer from the tragedy of division by foreign forces, against the will of the very nation itself, and the force who is trying to perpetuate its division even at this moment is none other than the U.S.
It is also necessary to make it clear that another reason for on-going stalemate and impasse of the inter-Korean relations is the treacherous acts of the south Korean authorities who always read the face of the US, keeping aloof from the implementation of the North-South Joint Declarations while getting overheated in the joint military exercises and import of up- to-date offensive weapons aiming at their fellow countrymen, against the trend of the times.
Why I am summarizing the situation of the Korean peninsula in this report on purpose – it is because I thought it would be very critical to punctuate the point that the reunification of Korea is an internal affair of the nation that the Koreans should settle by themselves. In other words, it is indeed a problem that can be settled easily by the north and the south of Korea sitting together as required by the ideal of "by our nation itself", but it is only when the U.S. troops stationed in the south Korea withdrew and the armistice agreement is replaced by peace treaty.
It is really heart-rending that the issue of Korea's reunification remains unsolved distressing the entire nation at its tragic division for more than 70 years. As you know, the DPRK set forth so many proposals for reunification for the last seventy years, and the Korean people's principled stand to reunify the nation independently without interference of the foreign forces, and by pooling the concerted efforts of the nation, has been always just.
After briefing the last five years' development of the inter-Korean relations, I would like to yet add one more issue for your attention. The on-going war with the malignant virus, is sweeping every corner of the world dreadfully taking away more than three million innocent lives without mercy. However, we should realize, amid this war against the virus, a real war – the 'forgotten war' – is still in process invisibly without the notice of many.
The "forgotten war", the Korean War, is yet to be renounced. Therefore, we are urging to replace the armistice agreement by a peace treaty, for the sake of a lasting peace and reunification on the Korean peninsula. This is a prerequisite for putting an end to this war, which has continued sustaining a bruise and inflicting mental and physical pains upon millions of innocent people and families for more than 70 years, and also for creating a stable environment of peace to the Korean people to step up with founding a reunified and prosperous state.
I am happy to sum up proudly that for the last 5 years, the APRCPRK has fulfilled its mission and tasks with success, closely observing the positive development on the Korean peninsula. The regional committee organized the E-seminars on the important occasions of the DPRK on the regional or international scale for the last five years, thus showing its excellent organizing and executive ability in its works to give wide publicity to the undying feats of the great leaders of the Korean people and to render international solidarity to the Korean people in their just cause.
At the same time, its key constituent members actively contributed to raising the public awareness about the urgent nature of Korea's reunification by initiating and successfully leading various activities of their own respective national organizations in the region.
In response to the appeal of the regional committee, in the Philippines, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, India and many other countries in the region there were held a signature campaign and various other activities for supporting the reunification of Korea, while the formal letters were sent to respective governments and relevant authorities requesting them to have their voice added and take stock in the withdrawal of the U.S. troops from south Korea and the conclusion of the peace treaty.
The APRCPRK has organized this enlarged meeting, prompted by requirements of the developing situation in which it needs more organized actions to support the earliest possible reunification of Korea; to urge the heinous hostile forces of the Korean people upon the termination of the unlawful and unjust "sanction" against the right to existence and development of the Korean people; and to stage a broader-based campaign to further heighten the atmosphere of regional solidarity movement.
As one of the main agenda items, the regional committee, in this meeting, will restructure the organization, electing the leading members to revitalize the activities.
The revamped organization, as a united-front coalition in its character, welcoming involvements of all the friendship and solidarity organizations in the region supporting the reunification of Korea, progressive organizations and anti-war and peace organizations, shall organize the broad-based campaigns to support the independent and peaceful reunification.
In order to perform this task, the regional committee shall form a broad united front with all the progressive and peace organizations, which support and approve the mission of the regional committee, aspiring for the reunification of Korea, while widely introducing and promoting about the APRCPRK's activities and vision.
Promoting the friendship with the Korean people means, in other words, extending the solidarity to the Korean people in their just cause. In this sense it is a top task for the friendship and solidarity organizations with the Korean people in the region to join together to keep a pace in the undertakings to support the reunification.
To this end, I remain confident that the friendship and solidarity organizations with the Korean people will actively contribute to development of regional committee's activities by being involved in its future initiatives.
In the meantime, the regional committee will establish and launch its website and Facebook page to introduce the activities of the organization as well as constantly brainstorming new ideas and ways to improve its promotional work to approach the general public in the region more effectively.
The APRCPRK will continue to study the fair proposals, which were set forth by the DPRK for the reunification of Korea, and declarations and agreements that north and south jointly signed and agreed, while considering to organize the seminars and forums online so as to educate uninterruptedly and assiduously the general public, which is deeply permeated with prejudice and bias of the Western mass media and its outlets.
The documents that north and south jointly signed and adopted for peace and reunification of Korea should be the guideline for achieving Korea's reunification. To enumerate, they are July 4th Joint Declaration in 1972, "Agreement on Reconciliation, Non-aggression, Cooperation & Exchanges" on January 20, 1992, North-South Joint declaration on June 15, 2000, "Declaration for Development of North-South Relations and Peace and Prosperity" on October 4, 2007, "Panmunjom Declaration on Peace, Prosperity and Reunification of the Korean peninsula" on April 27, 2018, September Pyongyang Joint Declaration in 2018, etc. We, as supporters for the reunification of Korea, have to go deep into the study of these documents before conducting any activities to demand for implementation of the joint declarations.
In conducting solidarity activities for the independent and peaceful reunification of Korea, the regional committee shall focus on urging the south Korean authority to stop all kinds of hostile acts against the other party and to value the north-south declarations and thoroughly implement them. Along with this, the regional committee shall demand that the US, the main obstacle to Korea's reunification, withdraw its hostile policy towards the DPRK, finally terminate the Korean War through the Peace Treaty and stop the so-called "annual" U.S.-south Korea joint war drills in south Korea.
War drill can never be compatible with dialogue, and hostility with cooperation.
Though this issue will be further discussed when dealing with the agenda items of today's meeting, I suggest the Regional Committee should define the period from June 25 to July 27 as the "Month of Solidarity for the Korean people", and conduct diverse supporting activities such as a signature campaign in demand for the Peace Treaty.
Last but not least, the regional committee shall demand the lifting of the unlawful "sanctions", a grave menace to Korea's right to development and existence, and promote the reality of the DPRK more widely against the Western mass media, which picks fault with the "human rights" situation of the DPRK and abuse it as a tool for vicious propaganda.
For the DPRK, under "sanctions" ever since the very first day of its foundation, the U.S.-led "sanctions" has inflicted tremendous losses and damage upon the Korean people, which can never be compensated by any means.
I would like to underscore that those unlawful and unjust 'sanctions' must not be imposed any longer on the Korean people, people who are blazing the trail into the future by their own efforts with rock-firm deterrents developed to safeguard themselves from the ever- hovering threat of war and in an ardent wish and thirst for peace. With this in mind, I see that we should keep requesting our own governments to join and call for the lifting of inhumane "sanctions" against the DPRK.
Moreover, it should be emphasized here is that the times in which the U.S., a barren land of the human rights, played the role of world sheriff to administer justice, is all gone, and that the APRCPRK shall define it as its major task to extensively publicize the true and blessed lives of the people in the DPRK through various social media platforms and every channels available.
In this enlarged meeting, the APRCPRK will be restructured as a more lively organization with kinetic energy which will take the lead more vigorously in regional solidarity movements to support Korea's reunification. In view of this, I express my conviction and expectation that the newly elected members would commit to performing the enormous tasks of the regional committee by fully admitting and realizing their noble obligations and duty.
To cope with the prolonged global health crisis, I would like to call upon everyone present here to take concerted action in all the activities decided by the regional committee while conducting various works and campaigns in consonance with the realities of your own countries, focusing with on-line activities.
In the meantime, the key members should be in constant touch exchanging experiences with each other and presenting constructive ideas and feedback to further consolidate and develop the regional committee as a healthy organic body.
In conclusion, I remain confident that all the participants will join your efforts in the struggle to support the Korean people in their just cause and vigorously and unremittingly conduct solidarity activities for Korea's peaceful reunification. At the same time, I trust every one present will contribute to the successful proceedings of the meeting, discussing details for future plans of the regional committee.
Moreover, noting that the year 2022 marks the 110th birth anniversary of HE Kim Il Sung, the eternal President of the Korean people and the 80th birth anniversary of HE Kim Jong Il, I am sure that the meeting will discuss significant measures and adopt decisions to pay tribute to their dedicated contributions to independent and peaceful reunification of Korea, their life-long desire.
Hoping that all of us work more closely for the development of the APRCPRK; for greater successes in the Korean people's just struggle for the national reunification; and for unity and cohesion among all friendship and solidarity organizations, anti-war & peace organizations, and progressive organizations, I would like to conclude the report with a guiding principle of HE Kim Il Sung, the eternal President of the Korean people "The life of a revolutionary should begin with struggle and end with struggle."
Korea is one and one it shall be! Long live the reunified and prosperous Korea!
Peter Woods
Co-chair APRCPRK
31 May 2021
