Cancel the 6th Security Policy Initiative (SPI) talks which aim to station US forces in Korea permanently and transform the Republic of Korea (ROK)-US alliance into an aggressive force!
 

The agenda of 6th ROK-US SPI meeting, held February 13-15 on Guam, includes an analysis of the future vision of the ROK-US alliance, the clean-up of contaminated bases that will be returned to Korea, the redeployment of the US forces in Korea (USFK), and the return of wartime operational control to Korean forces.

We are especially concerned about this meeting because we know that the ROK-US authorities will agree on the first draft of the future vision of the ROK-US alliance

We are firmly opposed to this agreement on the future vision of the alliance because it will justify the permanent stationing of US forces in Korea and be a serious obstacle to the independence, peace, and reunification of Korea.

The ROK-US alliance is in danger of collapsing because of the end of the Cold War and the accelerating improvement of inter-Korean relations

For this reason, the ROK-US authorities are attempting to find a justification for the permanent stationing of US forces on the Korean peninsula.

For example, the ROK-US alliance is said to be necessary to support such values as the market economy, improvement of democracy and human rights.

They also want to expand the scope of the alliance’s mission to combating terrorism and stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and to extend the geographical range of the alliance’s operations, calling it a “regional alliance” and a “comprehensive alliance”.

We are deeply concerned that through these changes the US will try to prolong the life of the ROK-US alliance and aim to station its forces in Korea permanently.

By stationing its forces in Korea permanently, the US intends to maintain control over the establishment of a peace regime on the peninsula and the reunification process

The US intends to make the Korean peninsula a staging base from which it can exercise military hegemony over the Asia-Pacific region.

The USFK have seriously damaged the political-military independence of South Korea and have endangered peace on the peninsula through the threat of war with North Korea.

Therefore we strongly urge the ROK-US authorities to cancel the agreement about the future vision of the alliance

We are also absolutely opposed to the agreement on the future vision of the alliance because it violates the peace article of the Korean constitution and the ROK-US Mutual Defense Treaty, and will legalize the aggressive realignment of the alliance.

The ROK-US military authorities have been planning the aggressive realignment of the alliance for a long time.

The alliance, which was established on the basis of the cease-fire regime after the end of the Korean War, is a defensive alliance against North Korea, according to the ROK-US Mutual Defense Treaty.

Therefore the alliance should have been abolished after the end of the Cold War and the development of the inter-Korean relationship

However, in the name of the future vision of the alliance, the ROK-US military authorities intend to transform it into an aggressive alliance to intervene in the Taiwan-China conflict (high-intensity conflict); to exert pressure on countries that support regional terrorism, to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (medium-intensity conflict); to protect the freedom of movement on the high seas, and to deliver humanitarian relief to disaster-stricken areas (low intensity action)

This type of realignment of the alliance not only violates article 5 of the Korean constitution, which prohibits aggression, but also is contrary to the Mutual Defense Treaty, which limits the scope of USFK operations to Korean soil and to defense against an attack on South Korea.

Therefore we demand that the agreement on the future vision of the alliance be canceled, because it would legalize the unlawful, aggressive realignment of the alliance.

If the ROK-US military authorities proceed with the agreement, we declare that it will definitely be blocked by the mass struggle of the Korean nation and peace-loving people around the world.

Moreover, we strongly urge the ROK-US authorities to:

suspend the SPI meeting,
agree to the immediate return of the operational control authority to the Korean forces, 
stop the expansion of the bases at Pyeongtaek, 
recognize the US’ responsibility to pay for the clean-up and return of the USFK bases,
endeavor to establish an equal ROK-US relationship which contributes to the creation of a peace regime on the Korean peninsula.

SPARK /Solidarity for Peace and Reunification of Korea,

 2006-2-13,   Seoul / Guam