He could learn from the Pueblo
Why Bush should study history
By Deirdre Griswold
Pyongyang, Democratic People's Republic of Korea
War is never far from the thoughts of the people here. There
are reminders of it everywhere.
This beautiful city itself was built on the ashes left after
the 1950-53 war, when U.S. planes and troops carried out a
scorched-earth policy as they withdrew toward the south, but
never succeeded in breaking the morale of the Korean
revolutionaries.
The Taedong River, which flows through the city between rows
of graceful willows now clad in spring green, once had its fill
of blood and floating bodies. But like Pyongyang itself, it has
another, proud history. In 1866 when the USS General Sherman
sailed upriver from the sea that separates Korea from China,
its officers thought the peaceful inhabitants of Korea would
yield up their treasures to the Yankee invaders armed with guns
and cannons. But the ship wound up at the bottom of the river,
and the first U.S. attempt to subdue Korea ended in
ignominy.
Today two small replicas of the Sherman's cannons rest next
to a plaque on the bank of the river, just above a dock where
the USS Pueblo is moored as a floating museum to another failed
adventure. The spy ship, loaded with eavesdropping equipment,
entered north Korean waters in January 1968 pretending to be an
oceanographic vessel. Suspecting the truth, Korean patrol ships
tried to hail it, then boarded and captured the Pueblo.
President Lyndon Johnson swore it had been in international
waters and demanded the return of this "innocent" vessel.
One year later, the 82 crew members--one had been killed
during the capture--were sent home, but only after Cmdr. Lloyd
Bucher had made a full confession and apology to the Korean
people. The Pueblo remains in the DPRK as a permanent testimony
to Washingtontreachery.
Sailors tell guests of exploits
This April 26, two sailors from among those who had captured
the Pueblo addressed a gathering of international delegations
in Pyongyang who had come to show solidarity at a time of new
war threats, this time by the Bush administration. The two are
decorated naval commanders now, but they were young men at the
time of their bold deeds.
One told with pride and some amusement how the ship had
arrived at its present berth upriver from the West Coast of
Korea. It had been captured in what Koreans call the East
Sea--the body of water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
A few years ago it was brought all the way around the southern
part of Korea--through waters controlled by the U.S. Navy--in
order to reach the Taedong River. It was a risky business, but
the operation was approved by Gen. Kim Jong Il, the Supreme
Commander of the Korean People's Army and also Chairman of the
Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.
Somehow--the Koreans aren't telling how--the ship was
disguised and made the perilous journey without being
recaptured by either the U.S. or south Korean navies.
The Korean people don't regard any of this as ancient
history. It is fresh in their minds and governs how they
respond when the present U.S. administration assails them as
part of an "Axis of Evil." The unrelenting military pressure
from Washington, represented by some 37,000 troops in south
Korea and annual war games in which more than half a million
U.S. and south Korean troops take part, plus the constant
presence of nuclear-armed warships and planes in the sea and
air surrounding them, are more than enough to convince the
leaders of the DPRK to take every U.S. threat seriously and to
plan accordingly.
This is codified in what is called the "army-first policy"
formulated by Gen. Kim Jong Il. The post of president of the
country has not been filled since the death in 1994 of Kim Il
Sung, who led the DPRK to victory over both Japanese
colonialism and U.S. imperialism. Kim Jong Il acts as the chief
executive and, like his predecessor, has been accorded the
title Great Leader.
This April 25, the country celebrated the 70th anniversary
of the founding of the Korean People's Army. In 1932, Kim Il
Sung had established this fighting force to consolidate and
elevate the armed struggle against the Japanese colonial
rulers, who had annexed Korea in 1910.
Early in the morning, Kim Il Sung Square in central
Pyongyang filled with scores of thousands of superbly
coordinated troops of the irregular army--what in the U.S.
would be called reserves. Marching bands led unit after unit in
a vigorous, bouncing high-step past the reviewing stand. Women
soldiers were just as energetic and precise as the men, as were
the student reservists.
Making the parade even more massive was the participation of
vast crowds of people in civilian clothes, who created an
ever-changing background by alternately raising flowery wands
of different bright colors. The colors spelled out
revolutionary slogans, then would briskly change to form the
DPRK flag or a map of the Korean Peninsula.
While a few units marched with their guns, the emphasis was
on the human element, not on the military equipment needed for
national defense.
Pride in strong national defense
The army-first policy has guaranteed a strong, healthy,
well-disciplined fighting force despite several years of
arduous conditions for the people of socialist north Korea. It
represents a sacrifice the people are proud of, and their
respect for those in uniform is unmistakable, as is the
élan of the fighting forces.
The land, factories, homes, hotels, parks, schools,
hospitals, offices, museums, buses, subways--everything in the
DPRK belongs to the people as a whole. No logos or brand names
claim possession over any of it. When people talk about
defending their country from the imperialists who would like to
carve it up and swallow the pieces, they take for granted that
it belongs to them, not to foreign investors or a wealthy
elite, as in all the capitalist countries.
Many of the north Koreans who deal with
foreigners--translators, guides, political workers--have been
abroad and readily acknowledge that the DPRK, which has had to
sacrifice so much for its independence, is still struggling to
provide many items that people with money enjoy elsewhere,
especially in imperialist countries. But they believe they have
something much more precious: a people who are united behind
their leaders, who share their achievements as well as their
shortages, and whose culture and history are not for sale.
For that, the people of the DPRK are ready to lay down their
lives if George W. Bush carries out his bullying threats. It is
up to people around the world who believe in justice and the
right of national self-determination to make sure that doesn't
happen.
Deirdre Griswold, a member of the Secretariat of the
National Committee of Workers World Party, led a Party
solidarity delegation to the DPRK in April.
Reprinted from the May 9, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email: ww@workers.org
Subscribe wwnews-subscribe@workersworld.net
Support independent news http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php)
HOME
:: U.S. NEWS ::
WORLD NEWS ::
EDITORIALS ::
SUBSCRIBE ::
DONATE
Email
this article
Printable
page