KOREA/NORTH KOREA

Obviously, as usual, the truth about the Korean war could not be presented to the US public (and the rest of the world) in all its shocking ghastliness and moral turpitude, so the Western engines of propaganda quickly went to work to turn reality upside down, and they did. The West remains unsurpassed in this kind of exercise. In most American minds the Korean war remains a fuzzy memory, largely defined by mythologised stories invariably presenting the American side as the “good guys” heroically fighting for democracy and freedom, giving Hershey bars to Asian kids, and other noble gestures. Many of Hollywood’s biggest stars were enlisted for this project.

TV mini-series telling the PRC’s official narrative of its involvement in the Korean War (1950-1953). It’s one of several films produced in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) (founded in July 1921).

CGTN—On October 1, 1950, a large crowd filled Tiananmen Square in Beijing. They were celebrating the first anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. However, the nascent state received letters from the leaders of two of its neighbors on the day – leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Kim Il Sung and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, asking for military assistance. How did this come about? CGTN’s documentary “Enemy on the Doorstep: China’s Involvement in the Korean War” shows you what was behind the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, which defined history.

KIM PETERSEN—As A.B. Abrams expressed with crystal clarity in his excellent book, Immovable Object: North Korea’s 70 Years at War with American Power, North Koreans are well aware of how American imperialism works, of its military depravity, and its proclivity for disinformation. North Koreans have demonstrated resistance, resilience, and self-reliance. It has served them well since the armistice was signed on 27 July 1953. North Korea is an economically sanctioned country, yes, but it is not an economically stunted country.

Anxiety in both countries about China-US tensions sits alongside not-so-latent long-standing  doubts about the reliability of US promises of nuclear protection. Grievances flowing from the Australian submarine deal may well feed the domestic cases for Japanese and South Korean nuclear weapons. 

The timing of Mr Morrison’s announcements also merits some consideration. In our view, this project is a political stunt aimed to distract from Covid failures, please coalition constituencies, and split the Labor Party and render the Greens shrill and sidelined. In reality, it is likely that after a passage of years of staged announcements and pseudo-planning there will be little to show for it, and the enormously expensive, strategically ill-considered, and force-structure distorting project will quietly die.