JOY ELLEN YOON — Ending Militarism on the Korean Peninsula

A statement Tuesday morning on August 10th from leadership in North Korea stated that the country will continue to build nukes if joint U.S.-ROK drills continue. This strong declaration comes in stark contrast to recent thawing of relations between North and South Korea. On July 28th, North and South Korea announced that they restarted key communications between the two countries. Washington D.C. followed by issuing a statement supporting inter-Korean dialogues, but now North Korea is warning that any call for dialogue by the U.S. is considered hypocrisy if joint military exercises proceed.

Republic of Korea and US’s Joint Partnership

If the U.S. and South Korea do conduct military drills it could not only set back inter-Korean relations but also further escalate the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula. Dialogues between the North and the South were re-initiated on July 28th, which marked the 68th Anniversary of the Korean War armistice. As the Korean War remains unresolved, these dialogues could deem crucial for ending the 71 year-long conflict.

The U.S. would be wise to reconsider joint military exercises. History proves that the issue of these drills has halted diplomatic discussions before. In fact, one of the main obstacles to peace on the Korean Peninsula is North Korea’s demand that the U.S. military leave South Korean soil.

North Korea has been at the center of world controversy for years. Their development of nuclear weapons has put the United States on edge as it has all of Korea’s bordering countries and indeed the world. U.S. often blames North Korea for pushing the world towards the brink of war. This is, in fact, no small matter that we can ignore. North Korea is surrounded by major world powers such as China, Russia, and U.S.-supported South Korea and Japan. A nuclear crisis with North Korea could very likely cause a third world war.

On April 26, 2018 when the presidents of North and South Korea met in the Demilitarized Zone on the 38th parallel, it appeared as though perhaps a new era for peace was being born. For the first time since Korea was divided, a North Korean President stepped foot on South Korean soil. Talks of peace began, and North Korea committed to dismantling their nuclear weapons facilities. Progress seemed rapid. A meeting for President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-Un was set for June 12th that year in Singapore.

Then suddenly, North Korea started threatening postponement of their meeting with President Trump. What prompted this? Joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States threatened North Korea’s sense of trust and safety. But North Korea stated that they understood the need for joint military exercises at the April 26th meeting. So, what was the problem?

These joint exercises were not standard training operations. They were specifically designed to prepare for a pre-emptive strike on North Korea. These actions were viewed by North Korea as a threat to peace on the Korean Peninsula. Trust was broken, and the threat that war would bring world-wide destruction came back into the picture. Then after a letter from President Trump, the two presidents made history as they met at the Summit in Singapore for the first time since North Korea became a nation. The initial meeting went well, but the following Summit in Hanoi failed.

Why are these military drills such a problematic issue for North Korea? The reason lies in the fact that the memory of war is still very much fresh and alive for North Koreans.

In the United States, the Korean Conflict has been written off in textbooks as the “Forgotten War”. It has been overshadowed by larger World Wars and the more recent war against terrorism as well as the controversial Vietnam War. Younger generations in America have little to no knowledge of the Korean Conflict.

But both North and South Korea were extremely traumatized by the war. Approximately 3 million Koreans lost their lives, and the memory of war is kept alive in the hearts and minds of the people even today. Besides murals and depictions in schools, hospitals, orphanages and other public buildings in North Korea, there are several large museums and memorials dedicated entirely to the Korean War. In the capital city of Pyongyang, there is a newly built, vast museum to the Korean War as well as a memorial to those who gave their lives in the conflict.

With no official end to the Korean War any kind of military aggression is seen as provocation. To North Korea, these military exercises are not peaceful drills. As the Korean War never ended, they are literally seen as acts of war and a violation to the Armistice Agreement between the North and the South.

If the United States continues in the same faulty patterns as before, we can only expect that the current inter-Korean dialogues will also fail. U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises are scheduled to start on August 16th. If the U.S. desires to stand by their word and as stated support inter-Korea communications, it will imperative to stop these military exercises. Words alone are not enough. Statements of peace need to be followed by supportive action to end militarism on the Korean Peninsula.