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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Korean Peninsula and the Six Party Talks!!!


More than a century of history and still going on.....

If i have to put the whole episode in a paragraph or two, let me put it this way...

"A couple (US and Russia) enters into a country (Korea) after the end of era of the villain (Japan) in Korea. They give birth to two babies - North Korea(B1) and South Korea( B2). They then divorce each other and B1 grows up with the Father(Russia) and B2 grows up with the mother (US).

The intense hatred between the parents and the way they bring up their child instills the same hatred between the babies. Mother(US) being a little soft, B2(South Korea) grows up similar to a hero(Kind, Democratic etc.) in a movie whereas B2( North Korea) turns himself into a monster. And the Fight Continues...........In one of their fighting shots, the Mother and B2 enter into the territory of C1(China) . 

As the dictum goes, Enemy's enemy is a friend and So C1 and B1 become good friends. And the fight Continues still...And hence the Six Party talks"

Read on to know the complete story....

Present State of the Koreas :-



The Complete Story……

The current relationship between the Koreas and Japan is to a large extent shaped by the latter’s unsavoury actions during and after the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05.


In this war, Japan defeated the Russian tsarist army and occupied the Korean peninsula. What followed the occupation was an unsavoury episode in the history of the bilateral relationship between the neighbors. The Japanese devastated the land, raped hundreds of women and enslaved millions of Korean men and women. The bitter legacy of these Japanese actions still rankle the Koreans. 


Japan's occupation of Korea, which began with the peninsula’s annexation shortly after the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, ends with Tokyo’s surrender in 1945. Koreans to this day retain an intense resentment of Japan’s harsh colonial rule. After Japan’s forced departure, Russian troops occupy the north of Korea while U.S. troops control the south, leaving the peninsula roughly divided . A UN General Assembly resolution declares the South the Republic of Korea with Syngman Rhee as president. The North, rejecting the UN decision, declares itself the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, led by wartime partisan Kim Il-Sung at the helm of the communist Korean Workers' Party. In spite of simmering North-South tensions, Russian troops withdraw from the North, and U.S. troops withdraw from the South in 1949.

North Korea, advised and backed by the Soviet Union, invades the South and nearly overruns the country. The United States rushes troops from its bases in Japan to the South’s aid. Reinforced by UN forces, they push north, ignoring China’s warnings about approaching its border. In late October, Chinese troops stream southward, chasing U.S., UN, and South Korean forces nearly into the sea.

In 1953, Fighting ends when the United Nations, China, and North Korea reach an armistice with the peninsula divided along the demilitarized zone. However, Syngman Rhee(South Korean President) refuses to sign the agreement, keeping the two Koreas technically in a state of war. South Korea and the United States sign the ROK/US Mutual Security Agreement, committing to defend each other in conflicts, and the United States establishes a troop presence of fifty thousand at military bases near Seoul.

From this point of time, many incidents like North Korean kidnappings in Japan, North korea seizing a US vessel, South Korea supporting US in wars, assassination attempt on south Korean president, Park Chung Hee etc took place.

1993 - North Korea pulls out of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and stops international monitors from visiting the Yongbyon nuclear plant

1994 – North Korean president Kim Il-Sung dies and his son Kim Jong-Il takes control of North Korea. The two Koreas, along with the United States and Japan, sign the Agreed Framework pact to end the North's nuclear weapons research in return for economic and political concessions, as well as a Western-designed nuclear power-generating plant.

In 2003, Six-Party Talks, involving the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, China, and Russia, begin with the goal of negotiating an end to North Korea's nuclear pursuits.

In April 2009, North Korea's launch of a long-range missile test under the guise of a communications satellite draws criticism from the UN Security Council. In protest, Pyongyang quits the Six Party Talks aimed at North Korean disarmament, expels UN inspectors from the country, and says it will restart its Yongbyon nuclear facilities. On May 25, North Korea carries out its second nuclear test, defying international sanctions put in place after the country's first nuclear test in October 2006. North Korea also warns that it no longer considers the 1953 Armistice Agreement with South Korea valid. Following the nuclear test, the UN Security Council votes unanimously on Resolution 1874 for tougher sanctions on North Korea.

March 2010 - The Cheonan, a South Korean Navy corvette, sinks near the disputed border--the Northern Limit Line--in the Yellow Sea, killing forty-six South Korean sailors. An investigation conducted by the South Korean defense ministry--which includes experts from the United States, Britain, Australia, and Sweden--blames a North Korean torpedo for the sinking. The report produced by the team concludes the torpedo was fired by a North Korean submarine. And the tensions heat up!!!

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il dies of a heart attack on December 17 2011. His youngest son Kim Jong-un, named successor a year ago, takes charge of the reclusive communist country and time will tell us the future of North Korea…

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