International conference declares 'Korea is one'
By Monica Moorehead
and Maggie Vascassenno
Pyongyang, DPRK
Here, in the capital of the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea, the Korean Committee in Solidarity
with the World's People hosted activities July 22-28 to
commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of the Korean War.
These activities included an International Conference for Peace
on the Korean Peninsula and the second International Tribunal
on U.S. War Crimes in Korea. The first tribunal had been held
in New York by the Korea Truth Commission in June 2001.
In addition to Koreans, 63 delegates representing 43
organizations and 26 countries participated in these events. A
U.S. delegation included representatives from the KTC, Veterans
for Peace, International Action Center, Korean Quarterly
magazine and Workers World Party.
The delegates visited the Sinchon Museum, a painful reminder
of U.S. military atrocities inflicted upon the civilians of
Sinchon Province during the war; Kumsusan Memorial Palace,
where the body of the DPRK's founder and great leader Kim Il
Sung lies in state; and the U.S. spy ship Pueblo, which was
captured by the DPRK in 1968.
The delegates participated in a solidarity march and rally
to the Three Charters for National Reunification monument,
where thousands of people greeted them.
Hundreds of youngsters and teens gave an extraordinary
performance at the Mangyongdae Schoolchildren's Palace that
included traditional Korean songs and dances as well as
revolutionary renditions.
On July 27, in a festival of music, dance and fireworks,
tens of thousands poured into Kim Il Sung Square to celebrate
their victory over the U.S. and to reaffirm their determination
to defend their sovereignty.
The Korean War began on June 25, 1950, and ended on July 27,
1953, when the U.S. was forced to abandon its goal of
conquering socialist North Korea and signed an armistice
agreement. The war resulted in the deaths of 4 million Koreans,
most of them civilians, and over 50,000 GIs. It left Korea
divided along the 38th parallel. Millions of Koreans and their
supporters are demanding that the U.S. sign a peace treaty with
the DPRK that will lay the basis for peaceful reunification of
north and south Korea, along with the withdrawal of U.S. troops
and nuclear weapons from the south.
Reprinted from the Aug. 7, 2003, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
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