VFP 성명, 종전이 북핵개발을 막는 최선의 대책임을 강조

 

편집국

 

 

미국에서의 주요평화운동 단체의 하나인 <평화를 위한 재향군인들(VFP)>은 12일 북의 수소탄시험을 비롯하여 조미 간에 고조되는 군사적 긴장을 깊이 우려하며 그 해결책을 제시하는 성명을 발표하였다.

 

성명은 북을 이 단계까지 오게한 것이 미국 정부의 전례없이 심한 대북적대정책 때문이라고 지적하며, 그렇게 생각하는 3가지 이유를 밝혔다.  

 

3가지 모두가 국제관계에서 전례없이 냉혹한 조치들로서, 첫째 지난해 11월 북의 미얀마 대사와 3명의 북 회사 관리들에게 미재무부가 가한 일방적인 제재, 둘째는 지난해 12월 미 재무부가 북의 은행가와 3대의 운송회사에 가한 제재, 셋째는 미국이 북의 명예에 먹칠하기 위하여 유엔안보리와 아무 상관 없는 북인권문제 다룬 것이라고 하였다.

 

성명은 이 단체가 핵무기를 포함한 대량살상무기 폐기를 지지하며 미국과 전쟁 중인 북을 포함한 모든 나라의 자위권도 인정한다고 하였다. 세계 제1 무기수출국이며1,000회 이상의 핵시험과 한 번의 수소탄시험을 한 미국은 작은 나라가 자기땅 지하에서 한 수소탄시험을 문제삼아 심한 제재를 가할 권리가 없다고 하였다. 미국이야말로 나토와 무기를 공유하고 핵시험을 비롯하여 핵산업을 현대화 하면서 핵확산반대조약을 위반하고 있다고 하였다.

 

또한, 유엔회원국들이 핵폐기를 위하여 법적인 확실한 조치를 하는 것을 토론하는 회의로 불리는 <2015유엔총회결의>를 지지한 나라들 중에서 북이 유일한 핵국가였다는 것이 고무적이라고 하였다. 그것은 다른 나라들이 같이 핵무기를 제거할 때 북도 기꺼이 동참하겠다는 명확한 메시지임을 의미한다고 하였다.

 

또한, 북의 핵시험에 대하여 경제제재, 군사제재 혹은 심리전쟁으로 대응하는 것은 바른 답이 아니며, 그것은 정전협정을 위반하고 조선반도에서 심각한 전쟁을 재개하는 것이 될 수 있다고 하였다.

 

그러므로 오바마 행정부는 2015년 1월에 한미합동군사연습을 중단하면 핵개발을 중지한다고 북이 한 건설적인 제의를 수용하고, 더 나아가 조미평화조약을 맺으면 코리아와 세계의 평화를 위하여 서로가 이기는 해결책이 될 것이라고 강조하였다.

 

이에 영어성명서 전문을 게재한다.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unending U.S. War is Driving North Korea’s Nuclear Program

Ending the Korean War is Our Best Response

 

VFP Statement on DPRK’s Nuclear Test

 

 

As a major U.S. peace organization of veterans, including members who served in the Korean War, Veterans For Peace (VFP) is deeply concerned about the underground test of a “smaller hydrogen bomb” in North Korea on January 6(Korean Time), as well as the rising military tensions on the Korean Peninsula at this time, including the resumption of the loud anti-North propaganda broadcasts across the DMZ by the U.S.-ROK military. U.S. also sent a B-52 bomber, which can drop nuclear bombs, over the Korean sky on January 10.

 

It is easy to jump to hasty conclusions or put all the blame on North Korean officials, which the media portrays as crazy cartoon characters. We believe it is vitally important for the American people to have a more sophisticated understanding of what is driving the North Koreans into a dangerous and expensive nuclear program. Are they really just “crazy” or “reckless,” as some pundits maintain? A close examination of U.S.-North Korea (DPRK) relations from 1948 shows that North Korea’s military steps were often taken in response to hostile actions by South Korea and/or the U.S. government.

 

So, what new provocations from the U.S. and/or ROK(South Korea) may have pushed North Korea into another nuclear test? There were at least three recent U.S. government actions that probably made them react.

 

O​n November 13, 2015, the Treasury Department imposed unilateral sanctions on the DPRK ambassador to Myanmar and three other officers working for the North Korean companies. Imposing a unilateral sanction on an ambassador of another country in a third country, is unprecedented in international relations since such action would be viewed as a hostile action against the country of the offended ambassador, who is usually given high respect and privilege under customary international law.   

   

Second, on December 8, 2015, the U.S. Treasury again imposed a new round of sanctions on DPRK, including on its Strategic Rocket Force (a military unit dealing with missiles), also on six North Korean bankers and three shipping companies.   

 

Third, on December 10, 2015, the U.S., as Chair for the UN Security Council for December, organized another special meeting of the Security Council on the alleged violations of human rights in the DPRK, even though the Security Council has no jurisdiction over human rights issues under the UN Charter. The main purpose of this session was to defame and isolate DPRK further in the international community. These highly provocative moves of the U.S. government are a continuation of its long war against DPRK in the form of economic and psychological warfare, that goes back to the Korean War of 1950-53 when the U.S. first imposed its economic sanctions on the DPRK.

 

It is not surprising therefore that the DPRK statement of January 6 pointed out, “there has been no precedent of such a deep-rooted, harsh and persistent policy as the one the U.S. has pursued toward the DPRK.” No nation should be subjected to such cruel measures for more than a half century. 

 

While we support abolition of all weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, we also recognize the inherent right of all nations to self-defense, as well recognized under international law and the UN Charter. This is especially so for DPRK, which is still in a state of war with the U.S. The United States is the No. 1 exporter of military weapons in the world today and has conducted more than 1,000 nuclear tests of its own – including a hydrogen bomb on the Marshall Islands in 1952.  We have no right to impose harsh sanctions on a small nation that tried to do the same thing underground on its own territory. 

 

The United States is also in violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty by sharing its nuclear weapons with NATO allies and engaging in continuous testing and modernization of its nuclear weapons and nuclear-industrial complex. 

 

There is some hope, however, of finally banning nuclear weapons, as the non-nuclear States are now taking the initiative to negotiate an international treaty to ban the development, possession and use of nuclear weapons. In this regard, we are encouraged to note that DPRK was the only nuclear State that voted in favor of the 2015 UN General Assembly Resolution (A/RES/70/33), which called for a special meeting in 2016 of “an open-ended working group” of UN member States to discuss “concrete effective legal measures” to achieve nuclear abolition. It seems DPRK is sending an implicit message that it would be happy to rid itself of nuclear weapons if other nuclear States were to do the same. 

 

Further U.S. economic sanctions, military threats or psychological warfare against DPRK are not the right answer to North Korea’s nuclear test. Such steps would violate the Korean Armistice Agreement and could lead to a tragic resumption of heavy fighting on the Korean Peninsula. Therefore, we urge the Obama administration to accept the constructive offers made by the North Korean government, the latest being its Jan. 2015 offer to suspend its nuclear tests in return for the suspension of annual joint U.S/ROK war drills against North Korea.  Rarely seen in the U.S. media is any mention of another longstanding offer by North Korea – to sign a peace treaty to end the Korean War once and for all. These are win-win solutions for all Korean people and the people of the world. 

 

Wage Peace, Not War!

End the Korean War Now!

 

www.veteransforpeace.org

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