This is an archive of the former website of the Maoist Internationalist Movement, which was run by the now defunct Maoist Internationalist Party - Amerika. The MIM now consists of many independent cells, many of which have their own indendendent organs both online and off. MIM(Prisons) serves these documents as a service to and reference for the anti-imperialist movement worldwide.
Maoist Internationalist Movement

Korean lackey regime shows some life

February 23 2007

The U.$. puppet regime in southern Korea showed some signs of life by negotiating for transfer of power over the military to itself on February 23rd. This may sound funny to many unfamiliar with the realities of Korean politics, but in actual fact, the United $tates retains command control of the military in southern Korea to this day, a key fact of southern Korea's lackey status. Ever since the Korean War, the united $tates has been in command of the military in southern Korea.

As MIM reported in a previous article, the u.$. imperialists realized amid the Iraq war run-up that northern Korea's Kim might take that moment to strike U.$. troops in southern Korea. Both MIM and Rumsfeld concurred on that possibility and hard as it is to believe, the united $tates offered to withdraw troops from occupied southern Korea. Instead, what the U.$. imperialists did was move them a little farther out of Kim's range! The old-style lackeys of southern Korea were not ready to push out the U.$. troops.

Also hard to believe for many--as in the Iraq war situation, it was the united $tates at least formally trying to make it look like it was pushing for out. The lackeys wanted transfer of military power in 2012 and Washington wanted it in 2010, or so it was reported. The master and its lackeys agreed on 2012.

At this time, it was not the Iraq situation precipitating a move.

"Although officials won't go on record, they indicated that the U.S. met South Korea's request after the departure of 'more hawkish' figures in the George W. Bush administration.

"'There was a lot of flexibility on the U.S. part. The atmospherics in Washington has changed much,' Jeon Jei-guk, South Korea's assistant defense minister for policy, told reporters at a briefing."(1)

Despite taking command of their own military, the southern Koreans are still insisting on keeping U.$. troops for "augmentation."

The old-line lackey party of the United $tates, the Grand National Party is favored to win the 2007 elections, thus cementing old-style ties with Washington. The economy in southern Korea is strong relative to most countries with U.$. lackey regimes and it is a question of some theoretical concern why the Korean bourgeoisie has not shown much independence to this day.

Note:
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/Engnews/20070224/610000000020070224064127E6.html