For the second time in a decade, Japan has formally apologized for its brutal colonial oppression of Korea (1910-1945) and the imperialist war of aggression it waged there. This time the apology was given by the emperor himself, rather than by the prime minister, and so is regarded as having greater significance.
The whole thing carries with it the heavy weight of irony, for the emperor's apology was made not to the Korean people but to Roh Tae Woo, the bloody puppet of U.S. imperialism, who at the very same time was suppressing the workers and students in south Korea with a brutality unmatched in the decades since dictator Syngman Rhee departed from the scene.
Attempt to bolster Roh
What makes this apology so repugnant is that it was made to Roh as though he were the representative of the Korean people. Yet south Korea has been convulsed in massive strikes and demonstrations which demonstrate conclusively that the masses of people there see him as a mercenary politician acting on behalf of the giant multinational corporations of the U.S. and its political and military establishment.
It also totally ignores the authentic leadership of the Korean people which resides in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, whose cadres led the struggle against Japanese colonialism in the 1930s and '40s.
While the apology may be good publicity for the Japanese ruling class in some parts of Asia, it is to be noted that the emperor's remarks only referred to Japan's military role. He said nothing about the enormous economic stranglehold which Japanese finance capital has over the southern part of the Korean peninsula.
Also, it comes at a time when the rivalry between Japanese and U.S. imperialism has been intensified to a truly acute stage; every weapon available to each of the predatory plunderers of the Korean peninsula is being used, not the least of which is hypocrisy.
U.S. and Japan exploit Korea
Neither Japan nor the U.S. shows any real intent of withdrawing its oppression of the Korean people. It would be one thing if the Japanese government and the finance capitalists it serves were to renounce their investments and the super-profits they garner from the sweat and blood of Korean workers. On the contrary, the apology is calculated to prettify the super-exploitation of the Korean workers.
Likewise, nothing whatever has come out of the Bush administration to indicate that it is moving away from the concept of the permanent division of the Korean peninsula. If they were looking for a diplomatic opening, the recent return by the DPRK of the remains of five U.S. servicemen killed in the Korean War affords the opportunity for a reciprocal gesture on the part of the U.S. However, nothing has been forthcoming.
This ought to serve as a reminder to the broad current of progressives here and to the working class movement in general that it is more timely than ever to vigorously raise the question of the U.S. military occupation of south Korea, which is solely responsible for the artificial division of the peninsula.
The intransigence of the U.S. ruling class on the Korean question can be seen in the uniformity of the capitalist press, which fails to carry any of the important declarations from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea regarding the status of the peninsula, the burning question of reunification, and the multitude of problems arising almost daily out of the division of Korea.
Kim Il Sung's proposal on UN seat
As just one example, there is the recent proposal of President Kim Il Sung that if Korea becomes a member of the United Nations before reunification, the north and the south should enter jointly with one seat. (See accompanying article.)
This important suggestion, like many others made by the DPRK to promote reunification, has been ignored by the imperialist media. No references have been made to it in articles dealing with Asian affairs. Indeed, when the declarations of the DPRK are mentioned at all, it is usually as a mere footnote to other events in Asia. The result is that the U.S. public is kept in ignorance of developments in the DPRK, and in south Korea as well.
One seat for Korea. Some here will immediately find this objectionable, on the ground that the two parts of Korea are sharply divided from each other, not just politically but more importantly by the nature of their opposing social systems. Certainly this raises some very important questions, which pose considerable difficulty in the way of solution.
But there can be no valid discussion with respect to these questions as long as there is a total military occupation of south Korea and a continuing buildup of the military outreach of the U.S. Navy and Air Force, with their aircraft carriers, their threatening annual military exercises, their nuclear bombs and over 45,000 military personnel.
How can any of these questions be discussed properly when a gun is being held to the heads of the negotiators? The issue of reunification, how and by what means, and the representation in the UN are proper, urgent topics for discussion between the north and the south. But this cannot take place in the real sense of the word as long as the military presence of the U.S. hangs over their heads.
One seat for Korea to be worked out in free discussions between them is perfectly in accord with the Leninist conception of the right of nations to self-determination. The imperialist strategy to line up international support for recognition of two Koreas is a violation of this right.
Priority is get U.S. troops out
For us here, the priority should be to get the U.S. troops out, which is completely in harmony with the interests of the working class and the oppressed peoples in this country. It will reduce the influence and power of U.S. militarism and strengthen the anti-imperialist movement everywhere in Asia. It will redound to the benefit of those still struggling under the heel of imperialism in other parts of the world, particularly in Latin America.