full Report on 9th Enlarged Plenum of 8th WPK Central Committee: http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/5a9ffe6e4d6704ac1838b14785365295.kcmsf
relevant section:
The General Secretary made a detailed analysis of the gigantic geopolitical changes in international geo-political situation and balance of forces in 2023, the main features of present international situation and the external environment of the Korean peninsula. And he advanced the strategic and tactical policies to be held fast to in the external affairs and clarified the need to newly formulate the stands on the north-south relations and reunification policy and make a decisive policy change in the work against the enemy.
The field of external affairs should actively and tactically cope with the changing and developing international situation and write a diplomatic history of the DPRK which accords with the position of a powerful country on the principle of defending the dignity of the Party, raising the national dignity and protecting the national interests.
He set forth the tasks for concentrating the main efforts on the development of relations with the ruling parties of socialist countries to further expand and strengthen the external sphere of the country, further consolidating the foundation of support and solidarity to the DPRK by further developing the relations with the anti-imperialist independent countries opposed to the hegemony strategy of the U.S. and the West under ever-changing international situation and waging a dynamic anti-imperialist joint action and struggle on an international scale.
We should consistently adhere to the anti-U.S. and anti-enemy struggle principle of power for power and head-on contest and pursue the high-handed and offensive toughest policy.
This year we reaffirmed the unshakable will to counter the frantic nuclear war threat racket and all-out confrontation of the U.S. and its vassal forces with nukes and all-out confrontation and inflicted insurmountable security crisis and horror upon the enemies by the overwhelming exercise of the thorough war deterrent.
Whatever the enemies attempt and whatever they choose, it is our unshakable principle and mode of struggle against the enemy to control by super-tough counteraction beyond it and by the exercise of powerful ability overwhelming it.
The conclusion put forward the line of making a fundamental turnabout in the sector of work toward the south on the basis of a cool analysis of the bitter history of the north-south relations which has repeatedly suffered only distrust and confrontation.
The Korean Peninsula is now constantly in the grip of an uncontrollable crisis due to the reckless anti-DPRK confrontation hysteria and military provocations of the U.S. and south Korean puppets.
It is a well known fact that physical clash can be caused and escalated even by a slight accidental factor in the area of along the Military Demarcation Line where large armed forces of both sides are standing in confrontation with one another, and no one can deny the fact that the two states, the most hostile toward each other, are coexisting in the Korean peninsula at present.
Such abnormal situation is not a random phenomenon like mutation in the light of the successive puppet regimes’ extension of their policies but an inevitable result of the history of the north-south relations.
For a long period spanning not just ten years but more than half a century, the idea, line and policies for national reunification laid down by our Party and the DPRK government have always roused absolute support and approval of the whole nation and sympathy of the world as they are most just, reasonable and fair. But none of them has brought about a proper fruition and the north-south relations have repeated the vicious cycle of contact and suspension, dialogue and confrontation.
If there is a common point among the “policies toward the north” and “unification policies” pursued by the successive south Korean rulers, it is the “collapse of the DPRK’s regime” and “unification by absorption”. And it is clearly proved by the fact that the keynote of “unification under liberal democracy” has been invariably carried forward although the puppet regime has changed more than ten times so far.
The puppet forces’ sinister ambition to destroy our social system and regime has remained unchanged even a bit whether they advocated “democracy” or disguised themselves as “conservatism”, the General Secretary said, and went on:
The general conclusion drawn by our Party, looking back upon the long-standing north-south relations is that reunification can never be achieved with the ROK authorities that defined the “unification by absorption” and “unification under liberal democracy” as their state policy, which is in sharp contradiction with our line of national reunification based on one nation and one state with two systems.
Even at this moment, the south Korean puppets are unhesitatingly contending that the DPRK and its people are territory and population of the ROK that should be reclaimed, and it is shamelessly specified in the constitution of the ROK that “the territory of the ROK contains the Korean peninsula and its attached islands”.
The reality urgently requires us to adopt a new stand on the north-south relations and the reunification policy.
Now we need to admit the reality and make the relations with the south Korean puppets clearer.
I think it is a mistake we should no longer make to regard the clan, who publicly defined us as the “principal enemy” and is seeking only the opportunity of “collapse of power” and “unification by absorption” in collusion with foreign forces, as the partner of reconciliation and reunification.
It is not suitable to the prestige and position of the DPRK to discuss the issue of reunification with the strange clan, who is no more than a colonial stooge of the U.S., just because of the rhetorical word the fellow countrymen.
South Korea at present is nothing but a hemiplegic malformation and colonial subordinate state whose politics is completely out of order, whole society tainted by Yankee culture, and defence and security totally dependent on the U.S.
The north-south relations have been completely fixed into the relations between two states hostile to each other and the relations between two belligerent states, not the consanguineous or homogeneous ones any more.
It can be said this is the present situation that shows the relations between the north and the south today.
The conclusion, lucidly looking into and recognizing the reality, stressed the need to take measures for readjusting and reforming the organizations in charge of the affairs related to the south including the United Front Department of the Party Central Committee and to fundamentally change the principle and orientation of the struggle.
very slight correction to the title based on the excerpt: peaceful reunification is impossible as long as the South remains occupied (a very reasonable stance), although in practice reunification is unlikely to happen without conflict
Thanks, I was gonna comment the same thing, small but important caveat
gonna finish reading it later, but damn, the ripples from russian-ukraine and palestinian resistance are going far
Russia-ukraine, Palestine rising, and Niger expelling France are very likely linked, even if only by shared counter- intelligence learnings
all global south, when one gives a step forward the some other feel daring to take a step foward and so on, how much the global south rebelled this year, beautiful, anxious to see what the oppressed are gonna pull on 2024
I don’t think it was merely emotional resolve. Oct 7 demonstrated a major change in material conditions related to planning, tactics, supply chains, and military intelligence/counterintelligence
I don’t want to say that there was a respect of US military power, I think a lot of states knew better than that, but maybe a healthy caution remained even after the US’s repeated military blunders. I think those two conflicts in particular have evaporated what caution remained. At this point ,what is the US really going to do to DPRK? They can’t sanction them anymore than they already are.
The US can’t really hide behind the threat of being the world’s most effective military force anymore, because they simply aren’t. They’re just the most expensive one.
With the south and US actively escalating things in the past few months (weird how the western press has been silent about it, only mentioning the DPRK’s response, how unlike them.) it seems like the US is feeling out for their next big war after Ukraine.
Let me check my new 2024 bingo card.
Oh, it actually has “US escalates tensions to the point that it leads into ww3” on it. That’s not good.
I’ve seen a tiny bit of reporting on the South discarding past deescalation agreements, but neoliberal press are generally silent on the belligerence of their favored children (see all the fucked up policies Ukraine has adopted that no one talks about).
Death to Amerikkka
til its backwards
To me it reads short of a declaration of war.
I have a few thoughts on this
DPRK sees that this as the most stretched and exhausted the US has ever been. To the extent that the US may not be able to interfere except in a limited capacity. This declaration is to measure the US’s response and commitment. We may see DPRK seizing the moment soon.
The part about having a unified state with two systems- the DPRK is planning on going the China route and properly using the productive forces that occupied Korea has to build socialism…does that sound correct?
Also the timing of this doesn’t really seem too far fetched as the US definitely couldn’t afford to get involved here either…hmmm…wonder what’s gonna happen
the DPRK is planning on going the China route and properly using the productive forces that occupied Korea has to build socialism…does that sound correct?
It seemed like they were saying that this has historically been their position but that they believe it needs to be reconsidered on account of the stubborn belligerence of the South, which seeks to instead have only its own system in reunification.
I don’t read enough from the DPRK to say if this is accurate to their past statements, but it seems like it would be since they have learned a great deal from China, already have an interest in things like Special Economic Zones, and generally hold that the principle hostility is not towards the South but the US (which implies to me that they would be willing to compromise with the South so long as the US is not allowed to hijack things).
It confirms the prophecy on the flag of South Korea. 😄
Absolute banger KCNA article by the way, I recommend everyone read the whole thing.