The Communist Party of Canada welcomes the June 12 agreement between Presidents Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump, as an important step towards removing the threat of a new and potentially catastrophic war in the Korean Peninsula. But while we express our optimism, we know that powerful voices within the imperialist camp still seek to prolong the legacy of US hostility, aimed at isolating the DPRK and imposing US domination. We call upon the federal government to fully support the June 12 agreement, to demand an end to sanctions, and to help build dialogue, friendship and peaceful relations with the DPRK and its people, who must be allowed to exercise their sovereignty, and to build peace and prosperity without the constant threat of US aggression.
For over six decades, our party has advocated a negotiated treaty to end the Korean conflict. We have always supported proposals to demilitarize the Korean Peninsula, beginning with the withdrawal of US troops, an end to the annual war games conducted by the US and South Korean military forces, and removal of all nuclear weapons from the region. The June 12 agreement opens the way towards these goals, and to eliminate a potential source of a much wider military conflict.
Those who seek to sabotage the agreement by claiming that the DPRK cannot be trusted, or that it violates human rights, should look instead at the United States, which killed three million Koreans and destroyed Pyongyang during the 1950-53 war. US imperialism is responsible for waging nuclear war against the people of Japan, and for countless aggressions and interventions against Korea and other countries. It is the United States which has the world’s biggest prison population, and which violates the human and democratic rights of its people on a massive scale. The US was founded upon the genocide of Indigenous peoples and the wholesale theft of their lands, and upon the chattel slave trade and the resulting pervasive racism still practiced today. Yet despite imperialism’s history of threats and aggression, the leadership of the DPRK has wisely chosen to seek peace and friendship with the USA. On this historic occasion, we congratulate President Kim Jong-un and the entire Korean nation, and reiterate our full support for the goal of peaceful and sovereign reunification of the peninsula.
But we also stress that the dangers of war and militarism are growing in our world today. The United States is escalating its military spending, developing its nuclear weapons technology, and threatening Iran, Venezuela and other countries. Canada’s military spending is growing rapidly, and Canadian troops are increasingly integrated within the US global military strategy to expand imperialist domination and encircle Russia and China. More than ever, the movement for peace and disarmament must become a powerful factor in Canada, and around the world, and we pledge to make this struggle a priority for our Party’s work.
Central Executive Committee, Communist Party of Canada