North Korea, Labeled part of the much-hyped “axis of evil” by the U.S imperialist administration is under tremendous pressure these days. According to many observers and commentators the threat of economic or military sanctions is a distinct possibility; with no dearth of “experts” calling for their “pound of flesh”. According to the Bush administration, the North Korean missile program constitutes a threat to regional stability; put plainly, it makes life a tad uncomfortable for Washington’s minions in the region. According to Washington and Tokyo, the recent missile tests constitute a provocation warranting the harshest sanctions and response. Of course; which imperialist power would tolerate such a snub by a member of the ‘Axis of Evil? What Washington would have you believe is that the North Koreans out of pure spite for the “democratic way of life” opted to provoke a regional war. A move by an irrational government in a deliberate effort to threaten it’s neighbors. However is that the true version of events? Certainly not! What must be kept in mind here is that this is a standoff a long time in the making; and certainly no effort has been spared by the belligerents to raise this situation to boiling point.

On June 29, in a press conference, Bush warned North Korea that Japan “Cannot afford to be held hostage to Rockets” and said that it would be ‘unacceptable” for the North to test a long-range missile, some of which, according to the U.S, could reach U.S territory. At a joint press conference; Japanese premier Junichiro Koizumi said that both leaders had agreed to “apply various measures” on North Korea should it proceed with a test launching. Following the missile tests by North Korea on July 4, Japan for the first time since the end of World War 2 is taking the lead in a confrontation on the Korean peninsula. Its draft resolution submitted to the U.N Security Council on July 7, calls the tests a threat to international peace and invokes chapter 7 of the U.N charter which mandates economic sanctions, no doubt a measure to pave the way for military action.

The Japanese premier, a close ally of the bush administration has been seen to be taking a more aggressive stance against perceived regional rivals in what is seen to be an effort to revise Japan’s domestic constitution regarding the role of the army and it’s prerogatives. Under the current constitution, military action is prohibited except in cases of self-defense. However this convention is under attack and has been for some time by hawks within the Japanese establishment. Most notably by the head of Japan’s defense agency, Fukushiro Nukaga, and chief cabinet secretary Shinzo Abe, widely viewed as koizumi’s likely successor. In their view Japan should prepare for “pre-emptive” strikes against the democratic people’s republic of Korea(DPRK). Currently, it is believed that Japan does not have the necessary capability for external military strikes but Abe has suggested that they work to develop the necessary systems. According to the July 11 edition of the Washington Post experts “believe Japan could develop the technology relatively quickly or perhaps buy it from the United States.” Many within the region; scarred from brutal Japanese occupation during world war 2 have expressed concern over the re-militarization of Japan.

However; Japan’s current willingness to once again don the camouflage comes at an opportune time for it’s patron the united states which is currently bogged down in Afghanistan and Iraq and couldn’t possibly, without significantly damaging it’s already over-stretched military and economy, deal with the DPRK as well. This posturing and muscle-flexing is aimed at containment of the “threat” posed by the DPRK, while pushing for economic sanctions as part of the agenda of “regime change”.

Is this a situation created spontaneously by a nation unilaterally threatening neighboring states without regard for the consequences? or was it part of long-term strategy by U.S Imperialism and it’s client state Japan to finally end the “Menace” of the DPRK once and for all? Who is the real aggressor here? According to many sources this was a strategy a long time in the making. According to Selig Harrison; director of the Asian program at the centre of international policy, the Bush administration’s “very rigid position” showed that it was “not prepared to trade anything” and “risks a war. The point is, the administration’s objective is really regime change in Pyongyang.” According to Harrison, the main aim of the six-party talks was never to resolve the crisis or compromise, but on the contrary, to demonstrate to other participants in the talks, particularly Russia and China that reaching an understanding was impossible. The entire purpose of the negotiations is to mobilize a “coalition for punishment”. This explanation fits in very well with the current scenario of U.S pundits speculating which policy will line up Russia and China to support economic sanctions on North Korea in the united nations security council. No one in the Bush administration has yet raised as a possibility negotiating a real end to the 1950-53 Korean war and normalizing relations with the DPRK. Even in the 2004 and 2005 negotiations the position of the U.S intransigent, with U.S negotiators constantly raising the bar with extra demands on the DPRK for concessions, in an attempt to torpedo any possibility of reaching an understanding of any sort.

However, the plot goes farther back, with prominent members of the Clinton administration; particularly former assistant defense secretary Ashton Carter and former defense secretary William Perry writing position papers advocating preemptive military strikes against North Korea’s rocket launch pads. In writings following 1994, Perry and Carter revealed that the Clinton administration “spent much of the first half of 1994 preparing for war on the Korean peninsula.”. The main target being the Yongbyon nuclear site, but the list of targets included all of North Korea’s military installations. However according to Perry and Carter, a visit by former president Jimmy Carter pulled the rug from underneath a potential war planned out to the last detail by visiting the DPRK and reaching an agreement with the DPRK and subsequently announcing it publicly in a news conference. Hence, it was Jimmy Carter going public that forced the Clinton administration to pull back it’s war plans.

In recent days; the attempt by the U.S imperialists to provoke a military confrontation has intensified. Not content with merely rhetoric, on June 14^th, the U.S air force held what was termed a “quality control test” for it’s fleet of 500 “Minuteman-3” missiles. According to army sources, one missile traveled 4,800 miles towards the central pacific, and three test warheads landed near the Marshall Islands. According to estimates, the Pentagon is supposed to have 10,000 nuclear warheads available.

At the same time, three U.S navy carrier battle groups-including three aircraft carriers, 22,000 troops, dozens of fighter planes, and several heavy bombers-were assembled in the western pacific off Guam for the first time since the Vietnam war. Their alleged purpose was long planned exercises with naval fleets of other nations. Positioned right off the coast of North Korea are the USS Curtis Wilbur and the USS Fitzgerald, both guided missile destroyers. According to sources, the U.S has sent spy-planes on more than 170 sorties over North Korean territory.

Interestingly, and rather predictably, despite the efforts of the U.S and Japanese administrations to distort the true realities of the tensions centered around the Korean peninsula, voices of skepticism and dissent have arisen, threatening to expose the hypocrisy of the U.S imperialists and their alleged “grievances” against the DPRK.

Japan’s threats and aims to re-militarize Japan have provoked anger in South Korea, where the government remains hostage to U.S troops stationed there. On July 10, south Korean presidential spokesman Jung Tae-ho said; “We can’t help but watch intensely as Japan has exposed the nature of it’s aggressive policy” The south Korean statement denounced Japan’s call to consider military action against the DPRK, accusing the Koizumi administration of “arrogance and outrageous rhetoric that further intensifies the crisis on the Korean peninsula with dangerous and provocative rhetoric such as ‘preemptive’ strike. In light of the painful historical records that Japan justified it’s invasion of Korea in the past…we cannot but conclude that these grave and threatening statements are to endanger peace in northeast Asia. They reveal the military nature of Japan, which warrants our intense vigilance.”

South Korean president Roh Moo-Hyun, referring to the missile tests said; “ there’s no reason to fuss over this from the break of dawn like Japan, but every reason to do the opposite. There is nothing good in heightening tensions on the Korean peninsula and worsening inter-Korean relations. This will not help at all to settle the nuclear issue or the missile issue… the possible launch of a ‘Daepodong’ missile has been widely publicized in advance. It was aimed at nobody and did not lead to a state of emergency in either our country or other countries.”

In an exposition of Japan’s true intensions behind the artificial escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula, a top south Korean official told the Korea Herald, “unfortunately-and I believe our regional neighbors feel the same way- one of the worst side effects of the north Korean missiles was that it has paved the road for Japan to build it’s military.”

The condemnation of the U.S imperialist plot has not by any means been restricted to South Korea. The people’s republic of China, also opposed the U.S-Japan resolution calling for economic sanctions. On july 11, China’s foreign ministry issued a statement calling the resolution an “overreaction” saying, “if approved, it will aggravate contradictions and increase tension. It will hurt efforts to resume six-party talks as well as lead to the UN Security Council splitting.” This was an allusion to the fact that, if pressed, China might have to exercise it’s right, as a permanent member of the security council, to veto the resolution. That same day, Chinese president Hu Jintao met with the vice president of the DPRK’s supreme people’s assembly and stated that China opposes any action that may increase tension on the Korean peninsula.

What is however, most surprising, despite the over-flowing and bloodthirsty rhetoric of the U.S, Japan and various others that the DPRK’s missile tests did not violate or breach any international laws nor did it violate any agreement. The New-York times, on july 5 stated, “ since the tests pose no security threat, and violates no international treaty, there is no justification for any military response, by the U.S or anyone else.”

What is important to note is that these sort of missile tests are not unusual. It is normal practice for any country and are conducted by countries daily. On July 10, India test fired it’s Agni-3 long range missile capable of hitting targets deep within China, followed by the test firing of it’s INSAT-4c rocket, however the U.S raised no objection. The development of the Taepodong-2 missile or any other weapon system is completely within the sovereign rights of the DPRK, particularly in light of it’s history of colonial subjugation by Japan and the vile rhetoric coming from the U.S. Keeping all of this in mind it becomes clear that U.S imperialism and it’s client state Japan are just using the North Korean missile tests as an excuse for the re-militarization of Japan, clearly an unpopular move, and to use Korea as a stepping stone for the attempted neo-colonial subjugation of the people’s of Asia. The DPRK and the Korean people deserve the solidarity and support of peace-loving and anti-imperialist people everywhere.