San Francisco, CA – On the afternoon of August 15, 100 people gathered in front of the San Francisco Federal Building for a national day of action to demand, “U.S. out of Korea” and “No to a Pacific war.”

Protesters chanted, “No boots on the ground, no bombs in the air! U.S. out of everywhere!” and “From Korea to the Philippines, stop the U.S. war machine!”

Many held signs reading “Stop U.S.-Korea war games” alongside giant cartoon heads of President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae

A speaker from Bayan explained the Negros 19 Massacre, where the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) claimed to kill 19 New People’s Army fighters. However, family and the people’s movement clarified that nine were civilians, including teens, college students and journalists. U.S tax dollars go to arm and train the AFP who commit these human rights violations in their war.

They further explained, “Marcos Jr. and his cronies sell out the Filipino people in service of U.S. imperialism and giving foreign monopoly capitalist like American Sugar Refining, the parent company of C&H Sugar, unbridled access to plunder our rich resources by keeping peasant farmers from asserting their right to land.”

The C&H factory workers in nearby Crockett, California, members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 6, recently went on strike. That factory is connected to sugarcane sources from the Philippines.

“We will fight for our dignity and our right to determine our own future!” said Heath Lee from Nodutdol, reflecting the growing trend against U.S. military forces occupying bases in Korea.

Lee continued, “Our demand is clear: the United States must leave Korea, like it must leave the Philippines, Palestine, Puerto Rico, Guam, Panama, Okinawa and everywhere else!”

A representative of Palestinian Youth Movement expressed the unity and solidarity between the liberation struggles of Palestine, Korea and the Philippines.

The rally alternated speeches with singing performances as well as militant and energizing drumming performances. The program included speakers from Nodutdol, Bayan, Gabriela, International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, and the Palestinian Youth Movement.

#SanFranciscoCA #CA #International #Korea #AntiWarMovement

From August 9 through August 17, Chrisley Carpio of the Central Committee of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization took part in the Jaju Solidarity Brigade, the first international delegation to attend the annual August 15 Korean Liberation Day March, in what is known as the Republic of Korea. The Jaju Solidarity Brigade visited U.S. bases and sites of historic importance to the progressive movement in Korea and learned about various fronts of struggle for Korean peace, sovereignty and reunification.

Fight Back!: Can you briefly summarize the political situation on the Korean Peninsula? And its relationship to the United States?

Chrisley Carpio: The people of the Korean Peninsula were once a united people. Today, its people are divided by U.S. imperialism at the 38th parallel. The North, known as the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea, is a liberated, socialist state that is in charge of its own affairs, including its government, military, economy and society. In the DPRK, every person is guaranteed a job, a place to live, and groceries such as rice and soy sauce, no matter the state of the economy.

South Korea, known as the Republic of Korea, is occupied by the United States. It is plagued by more than 62 U.S. bases. Instead of leaving in 1945 at the end of the Japanese occupation of Korea, U.S. military advisors stayed and took over bases and facilities previously used by the Japanese occupiers. Per the U.S.-South Korea Status of Forces (SOFA) Agreement, the U.S. government has operational control of the military of the ROK, which cannot act without its approval; it can take whatever land it wants, and the ROK must comply; and members of the U.S. military cannot be easily tried or held accountable to Korean laws no matter what crimes they commit.

The U.S. occupation has wrought murders of children, persecution of political prisoners, sexual violence against women, displacement from homes and farms, and many other atrocities besides. Recently, U.S. wartime preparations, such as the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield war games, have increased U.S. military activity in South Korea in an effort to keep it, in the words of U.S. Forces Korea Commander General Xavier Brunson, a “fixed aircraft carrier floating in the water” and “a dagger pointed at China.”

Fight Back!: What sites did you visit on the delegation? What did you take away from these stops?

Carpio: We visited two major gravesites in Daejeon: the National Cemetery where pro-Japanese collaborators are buried with tall, engraved gravestones not far from pro-independence fighters, and Sannae Golryeonggol, the site of the unmarked graves of the 300 anti-occupation political prisoners who were taken out of Daejeon Prison and shot, under the supervision of the U.S. military. We traveled to Gunsan Air Force Base and saw the breathtaking Sura Tidal Flats, the mud flats essential for the survival of 63 legally protected species, which the ROK government wants to demolish to make way for an expansion of Gunsan Air Base. Nearby is the Haje Village, where the people have rallied around a 600-year-old hackberry tree and hold monthly cultural festivals in its honor in an effort to take back ownership of land that was stolen.

Some distance from Paju City, we visited the Peace Park built after U.S. military tanks ran over Korean grade school girls, killing them, in 1988 and 2002. The 2002 killings of Shim Mi-seon and Shin Hyo-sun and the absence of any charges against the U.S. military killers led to mass candlelight vigils that demanded changes to the SOFA Agreement.

We protested the presence of the U.S. military at the Rodriguez Firing Range in Pocheon, which is the size of 1800 soccer fields, and did the same at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, the largest overseas U.S. base in the world. We saw the Daechu-Ri Hwangsaeul Memorial Hall, filled with photos of the farmers’ militant battle against the government to defend the rich agricultural lands which for generations had been theirs, before they were forcibly displaced.

We visited the STD Management Center near Camp Casey in Dongducheon, where Korean women were forced into prostitution in the nearby camp town, confined whenever a U.S. soldier was thought to have an STD, and shot with so much penicillin that they could not walk, only crawl. We saw the house where the Korean camptown woman Yun Geum-I was brutally murdered by U.S. Private Kenneth Lee Markle, who was only tried and jailed after massive protests by women’s organizations, student organizations, and many more. He was the first American ever to be successfully tried and imprisoned for crimes committed against a Korean in spite of the SOFA Agreement. It was this incident which marked the beginning of the decline of the use of Korean women to fill the camp town near Camp Casey, which is now filled with trafficked Filipino women.

For every death was a memorial hard-won by protest and struggle. For every addition to a U.S. base was an effort to stop its expansion. For every human rights violation was a fierce struggle for justice. This delegation showed me that the fight for peace, reunification, and national liberation from U.S. occupation is alive and well in Korea.

Fight Back!: What are the demands of the peace movement in Korea? What does this movement look like?

Carpio: The demands of the peace movement in Korea cut a wide scope: the departure of all U.S. government and military personnel from Korea; the closure of U.S. bases across the peninsula; ending the Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercises; ending preparations for war in the Indo-Pacific; the return of all land taken by the U.S. government; an end to the SOFA Agreement and the US-ROK alliance, and more.

At their core, the demands are for peace, sovereignty and the reunification of the Korean people. At the protests we saw this week were multiple trade union federations, student organizations, women’s organizations, peasants’ organizations, civil liberties groups, and more. To paint a picture for you, in Seoul, the Korean Liberation Day protest on August 15 mobilized 10,000 people, and to conclude the rally, all in attendance worked together to rip a giant American flag to shreds.

Fight Back!: What are the challenges that the movement in Korea faces today?

Carpio: In the ROK, there are brutal restrictions on freedom of speech going back to the earliest years of U.S. occupation, and these laws still operate. The National Security Act of 1948 criminalizes any positive discussion of North Korea, anti-state activity, and any discussion of communism in general. Even now, activists can face a decade or more in prison just for the publication of a book sympathetic to the North. Apart from repression, there also exists a growing far-right movement, which faces little to no hostility from the U.S.-backed ROK government. At the August 15 protest in Seoul, we encountered some of these right-wingers. We outnumbered them vastly.

Fight Back!: What stake do the peoples of the United States have in an end to the occupation in Korea? What can anti-imperialists in the United States do towards this end today?

Carpio: In the U.S., the people face economic hardships and social problems too—but where does our taxpayer money go? Instead of food stamps and unemployment benefits, our money goes to the destruction of precious environmental habitats in Korea, the leveling of schools, houses and farms, the manufacture of F-16s and stray bullets that fly out of U.S. bases to hit civilians, tanks that kill children, facilities that violate women.

Like the Korean people, we don’t have a say in these decisions. They are made for us by the rich war hawks who sit on Wall Street. The same yoke that holds us down—U.S. imperialism—has been holding down the people of South Korea for at least 73 years. At the end of the day, the peoples of the U.S. and of Korea have the same enemy, and we in the U.S. are in a good position to mobilize against war on China and war preparations in Asia, not only in Korea but also countries like the Philippines. We should take the so-called dagger that is Korea out of the hands of the U.S. imperialists and turn it around. We should march against imperialist wars. And we should stand stalwart and say: U.S. out of Korea! Long live international solidarity!

#International #Korea #AntiWarMovement #Featured

Seoul, SK – On August 15, the Jaju Solidarity Brigade, led by Nodutol, joined 10,000 people marching in Seoul, Republic of Korea to demand “U.S. out of Korea.” This was the first international delegation to ever join the annual National Liberation Day protest in South Korea, which has historically brought together the country’s most progressive trade unions, student organizations, women’s groups, and other civil society organizations to oppose the Ulchi Freedom Shield war drills.

June Colcol, the secretary general of BAYAN USA, explained the purpose of the delegation at a press conference for the delegation, “We aim to contribute to uplifting the Korean national liberation struggles against U.S. militarism by raising the people's resistance and linking our efforts to kick out the U.S. from our homelands. U.S. military presence continues to place our people in danger.”

21 international anti-war and progressive organizations, from the U.S., Hawai’i, Puerto Rico, Guåhan (Guam), the Philippines and India, participated in the Jaju Solidarity Brigade. The brigade spent a week visiting sites of U.S. military occupation, including Gusan Air Base, Camp Casey and Camp Humphreys. The delegation also met with people’s resistance leaders from across South Korea to learn about their fightbacks to U.S. occupation.

Chrisley Carpio, a member of the standing committee of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, participated in the delegation and stated, “We visited memorials of children killed by U.S. troops, mass unmarked graves of political prisoners who defied U.S. occupation, lands where villages were displaced to make way for U.S. military expansion – and yet these were not wholly sites of tragedy, but of struggle. There was a movement, campaign, and demand at every step. Together, countless organizations spoke with one voice: the U.S. needs to leave Korea now.”

#SeoulSK #SK #Korea #International #JajuSolidarityBrigade #Nodutdol #BAYAN #Featured

Minneapolis, MN – On August 15, community members gathered at Mayday Plaza to honor the 81st anniversary of Korean Liberation Day. The event was held in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood, right outside of Mayday Books.

The action was emceed by Trent Fast from the Minnesota Anti-War Committee and Leo Del Rio from About Face, who began with the acknowledgement of the U.S.’s ongoing presence and occupation in Korea.

One occupation replaced by another

Fast explained to the crowd that the first liberation day in Korea was in 1945, after World War II ended. This marked an end to decades of Japanese colonial rule. Soon after, however, the United States military “showed up and established its own, brand-new occupation.” Thus, the Korean War began.

From 1950 to 1953, the U.S. government killed over two-and-a-half million Koreans and nearly decimated every major North Korean city. At the end of those three long years, the Mutual Defense Treaty was signed. Even though the war had “ended,” the U.S. remained in Korea as an imperialist force, occupying newly-designated South Korea. This occupation still lasts today. On average, there are about 28,000 U.S. troops that are living in Korea, and South Korea has the largest overseas U.S. Army base in the world.

Cedar Larson, representing WAMM, educated the crowd around the Mutual Defense Treaty and other similar agreements, calling them, “political tools to increase U.S. domination and control” over the land. They said the treaty gave the U.S. the “opportunity to threaten their enemies” and had “disastrous effects on the lives of the people.”

Forced prostitution

Larson also drew attention to the human rights violations that have been occurring since the 1960s. For example, the governments of the United States and South Korea established areas around military bases known as “special tourist zones for foreigners” – meaning soldiers. In these designated areas, South Korean, American and United Nations troops introduced forced prostitution. Women and girls, as young as 15, were “deceived, kidnapped, and forced into sex labor,” said Larson.

These crimes have continued to the present day. Even though laws have been put into place, they are rarely followed. The areas discussed above are often now branded as “tourist stops” but have a dark underbelly.

Ecological consequences of imperialism

Liz McLister from FAMM brought up the ecological effects that the U.S. occupation has had in Korea. McLister said that from “contaminating water supplies and arable land” to “disrupting wildlife habitats,” the U.S. has only brought destruction to the country. As climate change continues to worsen, the Pacific region is experiencing extreme heat, rising sea levels, coastal erosion and severe storm systems.

U.S. activities in the region are accelerating ecological damage and leaving its communities traumatized by decades of systemic abuse. Emily Newberg from WAMM stated, “Occupation is wrong. To occupy another’s land to take away their sovereignty and their self-determination. It leads to catastrophe in almost every way: economically, environmentally and nationally as the people are torn apart by propaganda and false promises.”

Not only does this occupation affect the communities living in Korea, but also U.S. citizens. U.S. tax dollars are being used to maintain around 80 military bases in Korea, using “$6 billion to maintain U.S. bases and troops in South Korea,” according to Larson. McLister pointed out that the “Korean peninsula is of immense strategic value to U.S. military operations.”

Korea’s proximity to China and other strategic locations makes it the perfect target for the U.S. military and imperialist interests.

Simulated invasion

Along with the maintenance of military bases, the United States also engages in staged military exercises or “war games.” Since 2021, the U.S. government has stolen $60 billion from U.S. taxpayers to fund war games like Ulchi Freedom Shield, RIMPAC and Balikatan. These military exercises are conducted in “preparation” for a war with other countries in the area, such as China and Japan.

Fast noted that during the upcoming week, the United States and South Korean militaries were planning to hold “one of the largest annual war drills on earth.” This exercise is named Ulchi Freedom Shield.

During these drills, tens of thousands of troops are deployed to the border with the North, simulating an invasion. Fast said that these war games could quickly escalate to actual war if there is a simple misunderstanding by either side, and have a heavy psychological toll on the people of Korea, who fear an uncertain future.

The day after the protest, President Donald Trump announced a reduction of the scope of this year’s Ulchi Freedom Shield, in apparent reaction to depleted U.S. military capacities stemming from the ongoing U.S. war on Iran.

As Naveen Borojerdi from MPAC put it, Korea is a “country that has paid a massive toll for its right to self-determination.”

A speaker from Anakbayan asked rhetorically, “For whom? For whom was the United States liberating countries across Asia? It was not for those people.”

Organizations were represented at the action, included About Face: Veterans Against the War, Women Against Military Madness (WAMM), Families Against Military Madness (FAMM), Minnesota Peace Action Coalition (MPAC), Anakbayan Twin Cities, and the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC).

#MinneapolisMN #MN #International #AntiWarMovement #Korea

New York, NY – On August 15, over 100 people gathered in the heart of Times Square, near the Army Recruiting Office, to mark Korean Liberation Day. The protest was organized by Nodutdol and Bayan USA.

Korean Liberation Day is a celebration of the Korean resistance rising up and overthrowing Japanese imperialism on August 15, 1945. Since that day, it has become a yearly celebration to remember the militancy of the Korean people against imperialism and occupation.

For this protest, Nodutdol and Bayan demanded “U.S. out of Korea” and an end to the Pacific war. The United States has long engaged in violent meddling and intervention in South Korea to oppose North Korea. Additionally, weapon trade and war games in the region have escalated deaths of civilians.

A speaker from Nodutdol said, “My grandmother lived through the Korean War as a young girl. The U.S. claims to have saved Korea, but my grandmother and the millions of civilians killed would say otherwise. We cannot hear the voices of the dead, but we must hear the voices of the living!”

Next, the action marched to the Philippines Consulate, where a speaker from Anakbayan told of the complicity of the Philippines government in the oppression of its people both in the U.S. and at home. They went on to share how Filipino and Korean people are both affected in similar ways by U.S. imperialism, the military presence in their homelands, and “war games” conducted by the U.S., Philippines and South Korea, to imitate acts of war against China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Protesters marched to a corporate office for Hanwha, a South Korean weapons profiteer that also makes deals with the government of the Philippines. A speaker from the Philadelphia Alliance Against Imperialism explained how Hanwha has recently expanded its operations in the nearby city, directly profiting from U.S. imperialism’s warmongering and forcing its workers to endure dangerous and even deadly conditions.

Throughout the rally and march, protesters chanted, “No boots on the ground, no bombs in the air, U.S. out of everywhere!” and “From Korea to the Philippines, stop the U.S. war machine.”

#NewYorkNY #NY #NYC #Korea #USOutofKorea #Nodutdol #BayanUSA #AntiWarMovement #KoreanLiberationDay #Featured

Philadelphia, PA – On August 26, upon learning that Republic of Korea President Lee Jae Myung would be speaking at Hanwha’s Philadelphia shipyard, anti-imperialist activists quickly mobilized to oppose the war-mongering, $5 billion investment into Philly shipbuilding. This investment is a condition of the recent trade deal brokered by Lee and Trump, who met the day before in Washington, DC.

The deal entailed the lowering of the U.S. tariff rate for South Korean goods from the proposed 25% down to 15% in exchange for a direct investment of $150 billion into the U.S. shipbuilding industry, a deal proposed by Lee as “MASGA” or “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again.” $5 billion of that $150 billion will be spent on developing Hanwha’s shipbuilding venture in Philadelphia.

Hanwha, one of the Republic of Korea’s (ROK’s) largest shipbuilding corporations, acquired the failing Philadelphia shipyard in 2024 with the promise of providing 1700 jobs, training from south Korean experts and advanced shipbuilding technology. While initially meant as a site for repairing existing ships, Hanwha’s Philly Shipyard has expanded into the manufacture of new ships, and now, after the recent large investment from the ROK, will begin building warships for U.S. use.

This is within the context of the trilateral agreement between the U.S., ROK and Japan against China and the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK). Alarmed anti-imperialist activists oppose not only the escalation of naval shipbuilding in the U.S., but also President Lee Jae Myung’s hypocrisy of running on a platform sympathetic to Korean reunification, while cutting deals with the U.S. that would threaten the DPRK.

The organizers, representing an alliance of anti-imperialist organizations including Koreans for Decolonization, Anakbayan, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization, staged themselves opposite to the entrance of the Hanwha Group-owned ship building site. They stood with placards reading “No war production in Philadelphia” and “Reject U.S.-Lee puppetry.” Amplified chants such as “From Baekdu to Hallasan – U.S. out of Korea” and “No boots on the ground, no bombs in the air – U.S. out of everywhere!” soared over the flat, open air of the shipping yard. The rally’s presence was met with a mixed reaction from a group of Korean Americans who had gathered to greet Lee’s arrival.

An organizer from Koreans for Decolonization spoke out against the naval shipbuilding company, Hanwha, stating that “the heads of these companies are traitors, feeding themselves by escalating tensions and contributing to the U.S. war economy. They continue to be nothing but a happy pawn in the war that the U.S. wages against the world.” The organizer also spoke with members of the Korean press.

Another organizer, from Filipino youth group Anakbayan said, “The people of the Asia Pacific say no! No to subservience to empire. No to profiteering from imperialist war. No to U.S. military in our homelands. We stand shoulder to shoulder with all those resisting U.S. imperialism and fighting for self-determination for their people.”

Tensions were high as a large diplomatic bus lingered outside Hanwha’s main entrance. A few minutes later it drove away without disembarking and went through the back entrance instead, to the disappointment of the group gathered to greet Lee.

#PhiladelphiaPA #PA #AntiWarMovement #Korea #International

New York, NY- On August 15, 100 New Yorkers gathered in Herald Square, joining protesters around the country to demand U.S. out of Korea. The rally was part of a National Day of Action organized by Nodutdol, an organization of Koreans in the U.S. fighting for the national liberation and reunification of Korea.

The date marked the 80th anniversary of Korean liberation from the Japanese in World War II and the eve of the U.S, and the Republic of Korea’s (ROK) annual joint military exercises, Ulchi Freedom Shield. Speakers from Nodutdol condemned the war games, discussing how the U.S.’s excessive military presence and tight control of the ROK’s military amounts to another occupation.

Other speakers included representatives from City Workers for Palestine and Anakbayan Queens, as well as an organizer from South Korea. In her speech, the representative from South Korea spoke of the struggle for reunification of the peninsula and the importance of the anti-Imperialist movement within the United States, saying, “The people of South Korea stand shoulder to shoulder with you all and will continue our resolute struggle. Long live the unity and struggle of the peoples of the world!”

Chanting in English and Korean, the crowd marched south to Madison Square Park, where organizers closed the rally in a militant tone. They reminded the protesters that it was not enough to protest for a single day, but that only through organization and struggle can imperialism be overthrown and liberation achieved once and for all.

#NewYorkNY #NY #International #Korea #Nodutdol #AntiWarMovement

New York, NY – On the weekend of July 25-27, the Anti-War Action Network sent members from the Minnesota Anti-War Committee, Women Against Military Madness, Detroit Anti-War Committee, Tucson Anti-War, and Seattle Against War to the first ever People’s Summit for Korea in New York City.

The conference was held at Riverside Church in Harlem, and organized by Nodutdol, an organization of Korean Americans organizing for a world free of imperialism, and for Korea’s reunification and national liberation. Founded in 1999, Nodutdol has organized against U.S./South Korea war games and training exercises on the Korean peninsula, the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement in 2006, and in 2024 launched the U.S. Out Of Korea campaign.

The summit opened with an energizing performance of traditional Korean drumming, setting the tone for the weekend and ending in roars and applause from the crowd. The final speaker of the opening ceremony, Miyeon Jang of Nodutdol, declared, “The era of U.S. impunity and waging war without consequence is over. Across the U.S., we are organizing working people to create consequences for the U.S. empire and building towards our inevitable socialist future.”

Jang also spoke about the consequences of U.S. and South Korean military presence on the peninsula observing, “The United States and South Korean puppet soldiers will beat grandmothers until they need surgery simply for defending their farmland, and call it protection against North Korea. They impose lethal sanctions against pregnant mothers and children and call it diplomacy. They stage war exercises that drop bombs on villages and call it peacekeeping.”

Throughout the summit, attendees listened to many engaging panels including Solidarity and Sovereignty: Anti-Imperialism in the Indo-Pacific, the Long Revolution of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and Toward a United Front: U.S. Out of Everywhere. The South Korean delegation also provided an insightful panel on fighting empire from within the Republic of Korea. The summit also provided workshops including Surviving Sanctions, Occupation is a Crime!, and Policy and People Power.

Representatives from the Anti-War Action Network found the conference to be fruitful in continuing their analysis of anti-imperialism globally. Maria Sohn Hasman of Tucson Anti-War said, “It has been 72 years since the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed – 72 years since the United States forcibly divided Korea, began its occupation, and imposed the world's longest standing sanctions. As a Korean adoptee, it is critical that I understand my people's history of resistance. Adoptees and diaspora around the world have the responsibility to fight U.S. imperialism. In the United States specifically, we need to organize and deal a blow to every monopoly capitalist we can to support the liberation and national determination for not only Korea, but for the Philippines, Palestine, and all under the control of the United States. The U.S. sanctions imposed on the DPRK have crippled their economic development and livelihoods. All around the world, U.S. sanctions kill 500,000 people every year.”

Rae Minji Lee of Seattle Against War explains, “There are 28,500 U.S. troops stationed across 62 bases in South Korea, which have for decades been a source of violence as assaults, murder, rape, pollution and noise have been imposed onto the Korean people, with no justice or reparations. When the South Korean people are forced to bear the cost of moving or expanding these bases; when the U.S. can position operational nuclear warheads on their soil in secret for decades; when their army can be mustered by a U.S. general as a standing army in wartime, how can anyone not see that South Korea is occupied and has no sovereignty?”

Lee also spoke to the Western perceptions of North Korea that we are inundated with and the need to think more critically about them saying, “My own family repeated U.S. propaganda about the Korean War and its continued presence on the Korean Peninsula all throughout my childhood; I consider unlearning these lies and unpacking the propaganda against the DPRK to be critical for generational healing, as well as becoming a more effective anti-war organizer within the united front against U.S. imperialism.”

The connections between the fight for Korean liberation and Palestinian liberation were everywhere at the conference, with many attendees wearing keffiyehs and other clothing showing their support for Palestine.

Allison Gunderson of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee shared why she attended the conference, saying, “As an anti-imperialist, and as one who organizes around Palestine in particular, it’s crucial to learn the effect U.S. imperialism has on Korea and that you cannot have a liberated Palestine without a liberated Korea. You cannot be an anti-imperialist without advocating for the reunification and self-determination for Korea free of U.S. imperialism. There are 62 military bases on the Korean peninsula alone and Korea is used as a foothold in the Indo-Pacific region for the U.S. to ramp up war against China. That fact alone should tell you the ways in which Korea's Liberation is crucial to anti-imperialism, so of course I went to the summit!”

In the final plenary on Saturday afternoon, Mick Kelly of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization highlighted the importance of internationalism and building a global movement. Kelly expounded upon the recognition that the capitalist system is in its dying stages and is an enemy to people in the U.S. and around the globe, and the understanding of that fact is what creates the basis for working class internationalism. Going further he added, “the fact is when the Korean people strike a blow for liberation, it is of great benefit to those of us here in the United States and vice versa.”

After touching on the need for solidarity with the people’s struggles currently happening in Korea and the Philippines, Kelly laid out the tasks of people in the United States, stating, “We need to be about solidarity and it’s important that that solidarity is extended to the DPRK. It’s important that we have a global point of view and realize we have friends all over the globe. It’s vital that we build an anti-imperialist wing of a broader anti-war movement, a movement that’s inclusive not exclusive. We have a lot of work to do in the future, but we need to do it in a practical way that relies on drawing tens of thousands, if not millions of people into this effort. It is the masses of people that make history, it cannot be made by us alone and it depends on us being able to pull large numbers of people in behind us to do things.”

The weekend ended with a protest on Sunday in Times Square, in the heart of American finance capital, Manhattan, New York City. Speakers from several of the organizations that attended the conference took a stand to demand the U.S. out of Korea and an end to U.S. imperialism, not only in Korea, but also the Philippines, and of course Palestine. Attendees were also encouraged to hold or join a rally on August 15 for Korean Liberation Day. Organizers rallied around the chant of “No boots on the ground, no bombs in the air, U.S. Out of everywhere!” as they took to the streets to cap off a historic weekend.

The summit was seen as a major success. With organizations like Nodutdol bringing together organizers not only from across the U.S. but across the world, we can be sure that the fight to end U.S. imperialism will grow stronger.

#NewYorkNY #NY #International #Korea #AntiWarMovement #AWAN #Nodutdol

On February 18, the Foreign Ministry of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) issued a press statement warning, “The anachronistic and futile attempt to challenge the inviolable sovereignty and the prestige of the DPRK will entail self-destructive results.”

The statement continued, “The U.S. secretary of State held a confab with the diplomatic authorities of Japan and the ROK [Republic of Korea] on February 15 to cook up and make public a “joint statement” full of groundless mud-slinging and provocative rhetoric against the DPRK, talking about the “complete denuclearization of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.””

The statement concluded, “The DPRK will as ever consistently adhere to the new line of bolstering up the nuclear force clarified by the head of state and thoroughly control the threat and blackmail of the U.S. and its vassal forces violating the former's sovereignty and security interests, by making use of all its own political and military tools, and perfectly attain its strategic goal.”

#International #Korea #DPRK

Oakland, CA – On November 17, Nodutdol held an educational film screening and fundraiser highlighting solidarity between Korea and Palestine. Around 100 people gathered at East Side Arts Alliance in Oakland for the event, which was co-sponsored by Palestinian Youth Movement.

Emcee Simon Ma of Nodutdol began the program by saying, “Both the Korean people and the Palestinian people share deep histories of resistance against colonialism and imperialism, and there are many parallels between their struggles for sovereignty and self-determination.”

Ma explained how the Korean struggle against U.S. imperialism is ongoing, saying, “The Korean War never formally ended, leaving Korea divided, and the U.S. continues to occupy South Korea to this day, with over 28,000 troops stationed across over 17 military bases.”

The event promoted Nodutdol’s recently-launched “U.S. Out of Korea” campaign. The campaign lists four demands: U.S. out of Korea; end the U.S./South Korea Alliance; end all aggression against North Korea, and end the war economy.

The program included a screening of the 2003 documentary film, North Korea: Beyond the DMZ. The film follows the journey of a Korean-American woman who visits the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for the first time to meet her extended family who were separated from her parents during the Korean War.

The film highlighted the human toll of U.S. imperialist intervention in the region, showing how families remain divided more than half a century after the U.S. first invaded Korea in. It also combatted common American stereotypes about the people of the DPRK, showing their day-to-day life in a humanizing light.

The program also included a speaker from Palestinian Youth Movement, who spoke about their ongoing “Mask Off Maersk” campaign, pressuring international logistics company Maersk to stop shipping weapons to Israel.

Funds raised at the event went to the Middle East Children’s Alliance, an organization providing humanitarian aid throughout Palestine.

#OaklandCA #CA #International #Korea #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Nodutdol #PYM

Denver, CO – On Saturday, September 14, 30 people from Denver and Aurora met at James Bible Park in Denver, Colorado to oppose the U,S. occupation of Korea. A striking banner at the rally read “U.S. out of Korea! End the War Economy!”

This action was organized in solidarity with Nodutdol’s “U.S. Out of Korea” campaign. The energy of Nodutdol’s campaign can was felt those who gathered for the rally. Opposing the rising tensions of war from the continued sanctions on North Korea and U.S. war games is a priority for anti-imperialist groups.

Solveig Swain, a member of Denver Anti-War Action (DAWA), said, “The U.S. is ramping up the war games and the threats of invasion into North Korea in an attempt to stoke the flames of war.”

Raika Sailing, a member of DAWA and one of the organizers of the action, spoke to the broader agenda the U.S. has in the region. Speaking on the topic of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems deployed in Korea, Sailing said, “[They] threaten China and instigating further conflict in the East. The U.S. uses stolen Korean land to further their violent campaign across Asia. This has to stop.”

After a series of speeches and chants, the rally ended with an encouragement for those present to think seriously about how they could make this demand a reality, and how they can contribute themselves and their organizations to the call to get U.S. out of Korea and to the fight against US imperialism.

Near the end of the action, speakers connected the struggle in Korea to the brave people of Palestine fighting back against the U.S.-funded genocide being carried out by the Israeli occupation, chanting “Free, free Palestine!” and “From Korea to Palestine, occupation is a crime!”

The organizations present included Denver Anti-War Action (DAWA), Students for a Democratic Society, and Denver-Aurora Community Action Committee, among others. The action drew people from far and wide, with groups coming from Boulder, Colorado Springs, and Wyoming, including some of the Veterans for Peace, Students for Justice in Palestine UCCS, and the Colorado Springs People’s Coalition.

#DenverCO #CO #AntiWarMovement #International #Korea #Nodutdol #DAWA #SDS

New York, NY - On Sunday, August 18, hundreds of New Yorkers gathered to attend Nodutdol’s “No to Nuclear War Games: U.S. Out of Korea” rally. Held in Greeley Square in the Koreatown neighborhood, the event was one of several held across the country over the past week to protest the U.S. and South Korea’s conducting of nuclear war game exercises that rehearse aggressive scenarios, including launching a nuclear strike against North Korea.

The rally featured speakers from Nodutdol, Palestine Youth Movement, Bayan, and Student Workers of Columbia (UAW 2710), among several other community organizations. The speeches highlighted how U.S. imperialism impacts people all over the world, from the threat of nuclear war in the Korean peninsula, to genocide in Gaza, to continued oppression in the Philippines, to the repression of rightful protests and freedom of expression in the U.S., “the belly of the beast” of imperialism, as speakers and chant leaders put it.

“They are rehearsing another destructive war against the Korean people,” said Hyo-won of Nodutdol, speaking about the massive war games and military exercises being held by the U.S. and South Korean militaries. “How can anyone feel safe with the U.S.’s decision to bring nukes into our country?”

But the tone of this speech, as with the rest of the rally, was of defiance rather than despair. “We refuse to submit to the bondage of empire,” Hyo-won said, to prolonged cheers and applause from the crowd.

After the speeches, protesters braved the heat to march from Greeley Square down to Union Square. People chanted “Up, up with liberation! End the U.S. occupation!” and “Stop the war games, leave our land! U.S. out is our demand!” Chant leaders also reinforced the links between struggles around the world, with cries of, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” and “From U.S. to the Philippines, stop the U.S. war machine!”

“The protest raised visibility in New York around the many areas of U.S. imperialism and its effects,” said Josephine Baker, a member of FRSO NYC. “Imperialism is multifaceted. The same capital interests that profit off wars and weapons, also profit off of the working class in the U.S.”

This rally was just one part of Nodutdol’s broader U.S. Out of Korea campaign, whose demands include an end to all aggression against North Korea and a national divestment from the war economy. Protest organizers encouraged attendees to stay connected to further actions in this struggle, as well as to continue protesting the genocide of the Palestinian people.

#NewYorkNY #International #Korea #AntiWarMovement #Nodutdol

New York, NY – Several hundred people gathered in midtown Manhattan at The People’s Forum to launch Nodutdol’s U.S. Out of Korea campaign. Hundreds more gathered at events in Oakland and Los Angeles for similar launch events.

The event began with Nodutdol organizers presenting the background of the organization. Nodutdol (노듯돌, meaning stepping-stone) has roots in the 1990s when members of the Korean movement would travel to Korea to learn from the people in the South and North of the peninsula about their organizing against U.S. domination. They became fully established in 1999 in Queens, New York and in the early 2000s pivoted their focus to anti-war efforts in the Middle East. They continued their delegation trips to Korea and deepened their anti-imperialist resolve.

The organizers also gave a brief but in-depth review of the history of the Korean war. They began from when the Japan imperial flag was lowered in 1945 to how the U.S. military swept in immediately to quell any rising socialist sentiments. The Korean people were forced to trade from one brutal, imperialist force to another. The U.S. helped lead a murderous campaign against the Korean people to eliminate any opposition. At the time, it was estimated that 70% of the people of Korea were interested in socialism and the U.S. effectively eliminated close to 3 million of them.

With the U.S. still present in the peninsula, this makes it the longest running war in U.S. history.

In the last few years, the U.S. military activity has sharply increased in recent years. In 2023, U.S. forces conducted 200 days of military exercises. In mid-August, the U.S. and the Republic of Korea (ROK) will hold nuclear war exercises in Korea in joint military drills. These drills will occur during the Democratic National Convention in the U.S.

The escalation on behalf of the U.S. and the ROK has increased tensions with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). This led to the DPRK’s announcement earlier this year that they can’t see a future where peaceful reunification is possible with the ROK. As long as the ROK is not just under U.S. influence, but actively seeks to ally themselves with them, there can’t be a peaceful process.

Additionally, under President Biden's administration, the U.S., ROK and Japan have joined in an alliance called JAROKUS and are on the way to build the new “Asian NATO.”

Ju-Hyun Park, the Nodutdol lead organizer for the U.S. Out of Korea campaign, stated “We are just weeks away from the U.S. conduction nuclear war exercises in Korea. These drills do not keep Koreans safe—in fact, they are pushing the Korean Peninsula towards open warfare. For more than 70 years the U.S. government has pursued a failed strategy of aggression against North Korea. Now, the U.S. is escalating its aggression to try to turn Korea into a battlefield for the New Cold War.”

Once the attendees understood the history of the region, Nodutdol organizers presented the campaign demands to an enthusiastic crowd. The demands, reprinted here are:

• US OUT OF KOREA: the full and permanent withdrawal of US troops and weapons systems from Korea. We demand all Korean land, water, and airspace appropriated for the US military be returned to the Korean people.
• END THE U.S.-SOUTH KOREA ALLIANCE: an end to ALL US-South Korea alliances, including the JAKUS trilateral security cooperation. We demand an end to ALL US-South Korea joint command structures—the Combined Forces Command, and the UN Command. 
• END ALL AGGRESSION AGAINST NORTH KOREA: We demand an end to ALL US military exercises in Korea. We demand ALL sanctions against North Korea be lifted.
• END THE WAR ECONOMY: We demand the US government divert spending from war, prisons, and policing. We demand housing, education, healthcare, and climate justice for working people.

The crowd clapped as each demand was listed.

Park continued, “As Koreans in the diaspora, we refuse to stand by as the U.S. foments war in our homeland. We believe standing up to U.S. imperialism in Korea is not just in our interests as Korean people, but in the interests of the majority of people in the U.S. as well. It’s time to work together to stop U.S. warmongering in Korea and around the world.”

Over 30 organizations have endorsed the campaign, including: Black Alliance for Peace, Codepink, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and Bayan USA.

The next event will be a rally on August 18 to protest the U.S. and ROK war games.

 #NewYorkNY #NYC #DPRK #USOutOfKorea #BlackAllianceforPeace #BAP #Codepink #FRSO #BayanUSA #ROK #RepublicOfKorea #Korea #Nudutdol #JAROKUS #Japan #ThePeoplesForum

The DPRK Foreign Ministry said, “The U.S. is coming out provocative again, finding fault with the DPRK's exercise of its right to self-defense. The DPRK's recent development of new-type weapon was just part of its efforts for modernizing its national defense capability. It did not target any specific country or force and it did not do any harm to the security of neighboring countries.”

The statement continued, “The U.S. accusation of the DPRK's legitimate exercise of the right to self-defense is an evident provocation and a gangster-like logic. This shows that though the present U.S. administration is trumpeting about diplomacy and dialogue, it is still engrossed in its policy for isolating and stifling the DPRK. To bolster up the national defense capability is a legitimate right of a sovereign state. The DPRK will not abandon its just right.”

#ForeignMinistryOfTheDemocraticPeoplesRepublicOfKoreaDPRK #Korea #DPRK #KoreanCentralNewsAgency #Asia

According to the report, people in a number of provinces are no longer being held in quarantine following medical observation.

The report states, “The emergency anti-epidemic headquarters at all levels encourage all the people to keep streets, villages and worksites more tidy and clean and carry on disinfection on a regular basis during hygienic months, March and April, thus turning the hygienic work into a mass campaign for preventing the viral epidemic.”

#WashingtonDC #Korea #Asia #Healthcare #PeoplesStruggles #DemocraticPeoplesRepublicOfKorea #Socialism #COVID19 #KoreanCentralNewsAgency

According to a report from the Korean Central News Agency, “Kim Jong Un, chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and supreme commander of the armed forces of the DPRK, inspected the test-fire of the super-large multiple launch rocket system conducted by the Academy of Defense Science.”

In a related development, Kim Kye Gwan, advisor to the Foreign Ministry of the DPRK, commented on past meetings with the Trump administration, stating, “Three rounds of DPRK-U.S. summit meetings and talks were held since June last year, but no particular improvement has been achieved in the DPRK-U.S. relations. And the U.S. only seeks to earn time, pretending it has made progress in settling the issue of the Korean peninsula.”

Kim Kye Gwan continued, “We are no longer interested in such talks that bring nothing to us.”

#WashingtonDC #AntiwarMovement #OppressedNationalities #Korea #US #Asia #PeoplesStruggles #AsianNationalities #NorthKorea #DemocraticPeoplesRepublicOfKorea #Socialism #DonaldTrump #DPRKUSSummitMeetings

On October 18 a group of Korean students entered the U.S. ambassador’s residential compound in Seoul, Korea to protest the continuing presence of U.S. troops in their country. 20 people, who belong to a coalition of progressive students, scaled the wall of the diplomatic compound and began a demonstration against the U.S. occupation of their county. The students chanted “We don’t need U.S. troops,” and “Get out!” before being escorted out by police. 19 of the students were detained and questioned by south Korean police.

There are an estimated 28,000 U.S. troops in southern Korea who are essentially engaged in military occupation of the southern part of the Korean peninsula. In 1945 the United States militarily occupied Korea south of the 38th parallel, while the Soviet Red Army occupied the north of the country. There were international agreements that the two occupying powers were supposed to leave the country after helping stabilize the country and setting up elections. While the Soviet Union left Korea in 1948, the U.S. military never left.

The students also protested against the demands of the Trump administration that the south Korean government increase its contribution to maintain U.S. troops on the Korean peninsula. Under the Special Measures Agreement, the United States demands money from south Korea for its ‘protection.’

The Trump administration demanded an increase from $800 million to $1.6 billion dollars, a 100% increase, to support the U.S. military in Korea. After some pushback from south Korea, the two countries agreed on a one-year increase to $1 billion. The United States is looking for a five-year agreement, and more talks are scheduled for October 22-24 of this year.

This student group, as well as many others in the Korean peninsula, oppose this extortion and look forward to a Korea that is united, peaceful, sovereign and free of U.S. military bases.

#SeoulSouthKorea #Seoul #Korea #PeoplesStruggles #Asia

The commentary went on to state, “We can not but take a serious note of the double-dealing attitudes of the U.S. as it is busy staging secret drills involving man-killing special units while having a dialogue with a smile on its face.”

#WashingtonDC #Korea #Pyongyang #DemocraticPeoplesRepublicOfKorea #koreaDprk

The article also noted, “‘Democracy’ being advocated by the imperialist reactionaries is not for the toiling masses, and it is fake democracy for a handful of the exploiting classes.”

“The multi-party system is also deceptive. Various parties are said to take the reins of government by turns in capitalist countries, but those parties are all the bourgeois political ones representing the interests of business tycoons which have different names,” states the article.

The article concluded, “Capitalism is neither a prosperous democratic society nor everlasting one. It is a corrupt society rushing headlong into its doom.”

#WashingtonDC #DistrictOfColumbiaDC #Korea #Capitalism #DPRK #NorthKorea #Elections

The people of Korea and the peace-loving peoples of the world are celebrating the four-point peace pledge between President Trump of the U.S. and the Chairman Kim Jong Un of the socialist Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK). It is a big victory for the people of Korea, who want an official end to the U.S. war in Korea, denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, and the return home of U.S. troops. Koreans hope for the unity of their historic homeland, much like the Irish and Palestinian peoples do.

After World War II and the brutal Japanese military occupation, Koreans wanted a united country, as they had for 1000 years prior. Instead the U.S. army invaded and began a military occupation, dividing one nation into two states in 1945. The U.S. set up a military regime in the south. This southern military regime repressed and massacred anyone who opposed them, eventually provoking a war in the early 1950s. The U.S. promotes the myth that the north invaded the south, but the fact remains that Koreans cannot invade their own country.

The U.S. war in Korea killed one in five Koreans in the north, and one in ten Koreans total. The U.S. dropped more bombs on the north than were dropped by all sides in all of Europe in World War II. Low estimates say the U.S. war killed 3 million Koreans. Napalm death is a bad way to die, whether in the countryside or industrial centers. The horrific and deadly war ended quickly without a peace agreement and U.S. occupying troops remain in south Korea today. While the U.S. may have forgotten and buried the Korean War and the 37,000 U.S. troops who died there, it is still a living memory for all Koreans.

Despite what the corporate TV news is squawking about, peace in Korea is a good thing. The pledge for peace is due primarily to the strength and perseverance of the people and government in the socialist DPRK. The progressive, democratic, and workers’ movements in the south of Korea join them in their just national democratic demands. So do revolutionaries, anti-war and international solidarity movements around the world and here in the U.S. As the Korean people drive forward towards peace and unity, the U.S. empire and its supporters appear more isolated.

Part of this has to do with developments in the south of Korea. On May 9, Moon Jae-In was elected president of south Korea on a platform of restarting talks with the DPRK. President Moon and Chairman Kim Jong Un signed the Panmunjon Declaration for Peace, Prosperity, and Unification of the Korean Peninsula on April 27, 2018. Again, Koreans are driving this forward, not the U.S. The Panmunjon Declaration became the draft for the Kim Jong Un-Trump Peace Pledge.

There is a big lesson here: Anything Trump is able to accomplish with the DPRK simply exposes the complete failures of all prior U.S. administrations, Democrat and Republican. This shows how easy it could have been for any of them to make peace in Korea, if even Trump can fumble his way into this. This is a scathing indictment of the U.S. empire. It reveals the political and moral bankruptcy of decades of bipartisan U.S. foreign policy in Korea.

For decades the U.S. propped up brutal dictatorships in south Korea, making people endure murderous, undemocratic, corrupt right-wing governments with leaders doing the bidding of the U.S. Just last year President Park was impeached for corruption after stealing tens of millions of dollars. These governments violently repressed the student, labor and Korea unification movements, killing protesters and strike leaders in the streets. They denied democratic and labor rights whenever they could get away with it. The supporters of these right-wing governments were getting rich by exporting the natural resources of Korea to profit U.S. companies. Then Wall Street changed tact in the 1960s, and invested heavily in the electronics, auto and steel industries in the south of Korea, profiting from repressed wages, while shutting down the same industries in the U.S.

There are three big opponents of Korean peace and unity, and they are working overtime to stop any more DPRK-U.S. talks. Wall Street is howling about falling stock prices in weapons and other industries, the U.S. corporate media is screaming about Trump calling off U.S. war games, and then there are the ugly and offensive pro-war Democrats and Republicans making all sorts of American jingoistic statements, many of them American chauvinist against Koreans and Asians.

We stand with the Koreans who want peace, prosperity and security, the very ideas the four-point peace pledge talks about.

It is time for peace! No to U.S. war! No more U.S. war games! Bring the troops home now! Lift the sanctions on DPRK!

#UnitedStates #Korea #DemocraticPeoplesRepublicOfKorea #Socialism #Asia