2024 World Conference against A and H Bombs
Nagasaki Day Rally
Kim Kangyeon
Secretary General of the Incheon Branch
Solidarity for Peace and Reunification of Korea (SPARK)
ROK
Nuclear confrontations are escalating, increasing risk of war on the Korean Peninsula and throughout Northeast Asia. Since the declaration of the South Korea-U.S.-Japan trilateral alliance at Camp David in August 2023, military cooperation among the three countries has been expanded and strengthened. South Korea, the U.S., and Japan have activated a real-time information-sharing system for North Korean missiles and conducted their first-ever ‘Freedom Edge’ multi-domain joint exercises. Plans are underway to institutionalize and expand these exercises. The Freedom Edge exercises involve mobilizing South Korea and Japan as part of the U.S. strategy to contain China’s influence. Additionally, the U.S. is advocating for enhanced military logistics cooperation among its allies, which could lead to a Military Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) between South Korea and Japan. Furthermore, on July 28, 2023, the defense ministers of South Korea, the U.S., and Japan adopted the Trilateral Security Cooperation Framework (TSCF) document. This framework aims to institutionalize cooperation in critical military areas such as intelligence, operations, and logistics, with the goal of establishing a South Korea-U.S.-Japan alliance, and specifically a South Korea-Japan military alliance. A South Korea-U.S.-Japan and South Korea-Japan military alliance, combined with countries like Australia, will contribute to the formation of a military alliance in the Indo-Pacific region and, eventually, expand into a global alliance with NATO, which is already active in the Indo-Pacific and Northeast Asia.
Additionally, South Korea and the U.S. have established the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) and adopted the so-called Guidelines for Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Operations on the Korean Peninsula.’ They are working to incorporate these guidelines into ‘Operational Plan 2022’ and U.S.-South Korea combined exercises, thereby enhancing extended deterrence through the integration of U.S. nuclear forces and South Korean conventional forces. Similarly, on July 28, the U.S. and Japan, during the U.S.-Japan Foreign and Defense Ministers’ Meeting, the U.S. and Japan included the provision of the U.S. nuclear umbrella over Japan in a joint document for the first time. This agreement outlines measures to deter not only threats to Japan but also to its surrounding areas, including South Korea and Taiwan. This implies that the Japan Self-Defense Forces will follow U.S. Forces Japan in potential military interventions in the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia. In response, North Korea has restored its military alliance with Russia. Here in the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia, we are witnessing the emergence of a new Cold War confrontation, characterized by enhanced strategies and capabilities and a broader scope of conflict compared to the zero-sum rivalry between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the previous Cold War.
Alliances and (extended) deterrence can incite wars by threatening potential adversaries during peacetime and increasing the likelihood that these threats will escalate into actual use of force. Establishing the South Korea-U.S.-Japan alliance and strengthening extended deterrence could further solidify the North Korea-Russia and North Korea-China alliances, giving China and Russia more reasons to intervene in the event of a contingency on the Korean Peninsula. Additionally, if Japan’s Self-Defense Forces become involved, a conflict on the Korean Peninsula could escalate into a Northeast Asian war. Should NATO also become involved, it could potentially lead to a third world war. Therefore, it is crucial to dismantle alliances and extended deterrence to prevent nuclear confrontation and war in the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia. This is not only a matter of our survival but also an urgent task to ensure regional and global peace and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.
We must never forget the Japanese and Korean victims who suffered due to America’s nuclear weapons. We must ensure that humanity does not become a victim of nuclear weapons again. SPARK is advancing the International People’s Tribunal project to hold the U.S. accountable for the use of nuclear weapons in 1945, along with Korean atomic bomb victims. Revealing the illegality of the U.S. atomic bombings in 1945 is crucial for abolishing today’s nuclear weapons and achieving a world free of them. Additionally, exposing the illegality of (extended) deterrence that threatens nuclear weapon use is essential for preventing nuclear confrontations and arms buildup, and for achieving global nuclear disarmament. This effort is aimed at stopping the threat of nuclear weapon use from escalating into actual use, thereby safeguarding life and peace in the Korean Peninsula, Northeast Asia, and Europe.
To the peace-loving people of Japan: Let us push for both Japan and South Korea to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Let us advocate for a shift away from military alliances and extended deterrence with the U.S., which heighten the risk of nuclear weapon use. Instead of relying on alliances, let us work toward establishing a multilateral security framework for Northeast Asia that promotes peace, coexistence, and prosperity in the region. As those in power pursue war and mutual destruction through nuclear confrontations and alliances, we, the peace movement, must counteract this by paving the way to a world free of nuclear weapons through denuclearization, disarmament, non-alignment, and cooperative security. Let us resolve the Korean War legally and politically through the signing of a peace agreement for the Korean Peninsula. At the same time, let us work toward achieving the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the simultaneous elimination of alliances, extended deterrence, hostile policies toward North Korea, and North Korea’s nuclear laws (as of September 8, 2022). Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula will serve as a catalyst for establishing a nuclear-free zone in Northeast Asia. SPARK is committed to achieving a world without nuclear weapons by advancing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the creation of a nuclear-free zone in Northeast Asia. We will continue to work alongside you toward this goal. Fight on!